


Silence for Naught

by paynesgrey



Category: Super Gals! Kotobuki Ran
Genre: Divergent from the manga, F/M, Multi, Romance, Slow Burn, completed fic, unconventional pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 19:30:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 36,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16561898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paynesgrey/pseuds/paynesgrey
Summary: Rei tries to keep his feelings hidden from Ran, but when she clues in, she predicts a storm brewing among her group of friends, and she can't seem to stop wondering if she feels the same. RanxRei. Takes place around Volume 6. COMPLETE.





	1. Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Originally started on August 9, 2006. Completed on November 16, 2009. Taken place around Volume 6. I do not own the Gals! characters, nor do I make profit from them.

The walk back home was always the same distance, but after tonight's events, Rei Otohata thought it felt farther. Tatsuki's suspicions and Yuya's observations of him glazed heavily over his brain. He's known for a while that he had feelings for Ran.

He scoffed audibly. 'So?'

There wasn't anything he was going to do about it. He couldn't tell her; he couldn't confess. There was something about right now that seemed premature.

And so he was patient. Ran Kotobuki certainly wasn't going anywhere. Their friendship wasn't likely to end; he noticed this because Ran was the sort of girl that treasured her friendships dearly. And despite her normalcy of immature behavior and careening around Shibuya, underneath it all he knew that Ran considered him a friend.

He felt he had nothing to worry about, and his concerns for Aya were stifled. Honestly, who would think he could like a girl like that? She was crying all the time, needy in a very indirect way – always following the crowd. And though he didn't hate her, he humored her. Her affections were enduring – sweet and naïve – but not totally irritating in the long run. Rei had just felt that Aya was just not the type of girl he wanted.

Though he knew that underneath it all, he had been with Aya because of Ran's urging.

He gritted his teeth unexpectedly. 'That girl can ask anything of me and I'll do it.'

Feeling a bit defeated with that personal observation, Rei wondered if it'd be better if Ran never knew how he felt about her.

Yes, maybe things were better this way. She had a boyfriend after all, even if Rei questioned the depth and validity of her intentions.

Sighing, he kicked a rock that was loose from the sidewalk as he approached his house. He felt even lonelier when he realized that his parents were gone for the entire week, leaving the house totally in his care. He knew he'd never talk to his parents about his problems, but a presence of knowing that someone was at least there could be comforting enough.

Now, he was all alone coming home to an empty house with a mighty weight on his shoulders.

Well, at least he could sleep. He thought that it might not matter if he was alone, just as long as he could climb into his bed, rest, and let the worries of his day fade away.

He just hoped he didn't dream about Kotobuki tonight. He hoped that the universe would at least spare him one night.

He shivered as he a cold breeze nipped at his bones. Images of his recent dreams about Ran plagued his mind and warmed his blood.

'Silly,' he thought to himself, 'I'm feeling downright silly.' And if he could trample and subdue teenage urges he would, but honestly, he wasn't motivated enough, and he didn't mind having those heady visions of Ran anyway. Thusly, he let thoughts of Ran's creamy skin and determined eyes sink into his mind and caress over his heart.

'Ran,' he said her name, and it echoed throughout his core. Then, his eyes flickered and he came back to earth. Yes, for now he would keep everything – his thoughts, his feelings, and his desires – close to his heart. And as long as he kept his distance from his own feelings and from any opportunities alone with her, he would be fine. He could hold everything back.

"Hey, Oto-chi," a voice pierced through the dark. Rei looked up, mildly taken aback at the bright sepia eyes staring back at him.

'So much for keeping my distance,' Rei mused. He was sure the universe was laughing at him. He couldn't help but let a small grin escape.

Ran Kotobuki, the very girl he needed to avoid right now, was on his front porch in the dead of night.

His blood warmed at the sight of her, and his tiredness faded.

Ran Kotobuki thought it had been one hell of a night. She hated the fact that things were going on and she knew nothing about them. She had to be 'in-the-know' and to not be wasn't really fitting for the number one gal of Shibuya. She dreaded to think she was losing her touch; especially, when Mami-Rin informed her so callously that Tatsukichi was bailing out on her.

'That good for nothing,' she growled, and gritted her teeth in annoyance at the thought of Mami-Rin's smugness. Even Nii had given her a weary look.

'What's this crap about me being better with Otohata?' And she couldn't even try to miss the worried look on Aya-chan's face when Mami-Rin mentioned him. Tatsukichi was an idiot, but he wasn't without great intuition. In fact, during her time dating him, Ran found him to be quite observant about people.

So she had no freaking clue how the heck he could even come up with an idea that she would dump him for Otohata. "What the heck? Why would I date that nerd?" she mused aloud, and after safely patching things up with her boyfriend for the night, she sat in her bedroom perplexed, annoyed, and completely baffled by the situation.

How could such juicy events go on beyond her knowledge?

She balanced a pencil between her nose and lips, crossed her arms and lost herself in thought.

She knew Otohata wasn't the type of person to spread rumors, and Mami-Rin wouldn't make up something so crazy. Nii would never let her get away with such a rumor anyway, and his face had been as serious as hers.

So what was the deal? Ran groaned, and she had an uneasy feeling about where things were headed. If only she could think about those cute, unattainable 6" high-heeled red leather boots with white faux fur at the top and accented with gunmetal rivets and chains.

Damn, those were great boots!

But her mind shifted elsewhere, always settling on Rei's placid face. Her eye twitched – damn that boy was too good looking for his own good, had a bit of a dreary personality, and he made her so angry sometimes. How can someone be so good looking and boring all at the same time? She thought it was quite a crime against nature.

The other crime, she pondered, was that beneath Rei's cool demeanor and obstinate ways, he really was a good guy. He could have been a good guy for Aya, but his constant indifference to the situation made Ran wonder if he'd really been into Aya at all.

"What's the deal? Are you into Aya or not? You need to do something, either let her down or take her out. She's just not the type of person you can be so placid about. She can't act for herself, but don't hurt her if you like her. Do something soon because you're the first person she's ever come to love."

At the time, Ran had acted only upon Aya's best interests. She wondered, with what everything Aya and Rei went through, if maybe she had pushed him too far.

"Ironic that you're telling me this," Rei had scoffed. "In fact, the way I feel about…"  
Her eyes widened and her mouth shaped in an O. 'Wait…' She had been distracted at that time, and she could have even missed such a murky signal. But that was Rei wholeheartedly – a boy of mixed signals and questionable thoughts. Mystery and a deep brooding were all apart of his disposition.

What was he trying to tell her? Even more importantly, Ran remembered the exact time the conversation took place. This was all before he started going out with Aya. This was even before Tatsuki came upon the scene.

She bit her lip in unease. 'So that's how you're going to be, Rei-pyon.' Ran narrowed her eyes when she finally understood.

Sometimes she could be distracted, and sometimes she paid attention to other things that didn't seem as important underneath the surface. But she was not stupid. Patting herself on the back, she congratulated herself on her intuitiveness.

Now, it was time to find Otohata Rei and get some definitive answers! If anything, she'd like to settle this precipitating unease that simmered among her group. She couldn't help herself really – she could almost feel a storm ready to brew among them all.

TBC …


	2. Midnight Confessions

Leaning against the railing of his front porch, Ran crossed her arms and gave him a scrutinizing look.

"Kotobuki," he said, his voice more breathy than usual. He really had to work on that. "I can't fathom why you're here." He turned from her gaze and concentrated on unlocking his door. "I thought the problem with Aya was taken care of."

"Of course it was, stupe! I'm here for a different reason!"

"Oh? Couldn't it have waited until morning? I'm really tired." His voice intoned exasperation, and he hoped that maybe a bad temperament on his part would drive her away.

Of course, this was Ran he was talking about.

"I came to talk to you about that ruckus you caused with Tatsukichi, Oto-pii!" Now she was just being childish, and he could feel the flair in her voice. She was on a mission, and there was no stopping her at this point.

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes. He really wanted to avoid this conversation.

"Could you please stop calling me these stupid names?"

"Rei-pyon …" she goaded.

"Otohata-kun," Rei corrected.

"Rei-chan," she cooed sweetly, yet he could tell her tongue was spikier underneath.

"Rei-san," he corrected again. "Say it with me, Kotobuki-san." The extreme formality he used with her name annoyed her greatly. She stomped her foot and flailed her arms in a tantrum.

"Are you teasing me?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing … Ran…chan…" he said huskily, standing coyly in his open door. The endearment caught her a bit off guard, but than she snapped back into reality and glared at him. He smirked at her, but irritation tensed in his face.

'Oooh,' Ran thought observing him. 'He really wants me gone. He's hiding something. He isn't just tired – I know it.'

"You're avoiding the issue, Otohata-kun," she said coolly, and then she thought behaving just a smidgen would get her some answers from him.

He waved his hand and shook his head in response. "Stop that already. You know what you're allowed to call me," he said, turning the conversation back to the honorifics. He honestly didn't care what she called him, but he didn't care for her pet names in pubic – especially not when she didn't mean them and used them to get something.

She tapped her fingers on her arm and gave him an expectant look. "The issue here, Oto-chi …" Lightly she tapped her foot too. He inwardly smirked at the certain appeal of her determined pout.

Damn, this girl had too many fascinating facial expressions that he couldn't keep up with them all. His heart began to pound faster at the sight of her.

"There is no issue," he simply said, frowning and then beginning his retreat into the house. "Goodbye, Kotobuki."

And before he could leave her there and totally close the conversation, Ran grabbed his sleeve and pulled him backward. She peered into his face with beady eyes and said roughly, "Call me Ran-chan."

Then the game became "who's-teasing-who", and her forcefulness was making it difficult for him to subdue his rising excitement.

Finally, he felt his silenced feelings were all for naught and that maybe it was time to tell her everything.

Or maybe he could keep his feelings, and scare her like he did the first time they met.

But the 'scaring' wouldn't be far from the 'feeling', and in the end he hoped it worked out in his benefit, snuffing out any future awkward tension between them.

So he grabbed her arms and pulled her forward into his chest. Ran yelped, miffed and surprised. She froze when she felt his hot breath on her face and eyes peering deep into her own. He cupped her jaw with his hand.

"What is the issue here, Ran-chan? Why did you come to my house, alone, and at midnight?" With Ran still frozen, Rei braved another action, and with his other hand, he traced the outline of her hip. "Are you sure you're not the quintessential ko-gal, Ran-chan?"

At first there was a pregnant pause, and then her vigor returned and she slapped him away. "Don't start that again, you jerk! You know why I'm here."

"Yes, yes," he sighed again, feigning indifference. "It has something to do with Tatsuki, but I can't figure out what the hell it is because I really didn't know anything about you two having a skirmish tonight, so can we just get to the point?"

"That's what I've been trying to do!" She flailed her arms again. "Gees, if you would stop playing around …"

Then, Rei chuckled, and it caught Ran off guard. She smoothed her hair awkwardly behind her ear and sighed.

"Anyway, Tatsukichi was upset because of you, and I want to get to the bottom of it."

"So? And what did I do that caused him to be upset?" Rei scoffed again, shifting against his doorframe and looking away disinterested.

Ran had about enough of Rei's attitude at this point, and she became very close to blowing her top and causing a scene in front of his neighbors. Instead, she came over and yanked his head so that he would look at her – really look at her without the chance to avoid her gaze.

"Oto-chi, Tatsukichi thinks you like me, and that I like you. So where would he get an idea like that?"

Deep eyes peered into her own and his face was finally sincere, calm, and without a trace of malignity. "I don't know why he thinks that. Maybe he's insecure?"

It was a valid excuse, and Rei became uncomfortable for the first time ever to this grip that Ran had him in. With fiery stern eyes, Ran looked at him in a way that burned into his soul.

"I don't think so."

"I do." And Ran could have sworn he was moving closer, and although Gal-instinct was to fling unwanted drudge within her personal bubble away, she couldn't move to stop Rei from getting closer.

"Do you like me, Oto-chi?" She licked her lips as her voice came out scratchy, awkward and forced.

"No." His mouth was very close to hers.

"Tell me." Her nostrils flared and fortitude swelled in her eyes like never before.

He stopped his lips millimeters from hers. His breath was so close; she could feel the dampness in its heat. His nose unexpectedly rubbed against hers.

Rei didn't know what he was doing. He felt like someone else had taken over his body and all his decisions and had forced him forward – to her without care or cause to slam on the brakes. And such a thought depressed him, for he was not the type of guy to be whirled around and grabbed up in a sea of primal emotions. He was cool, collected Rei, and whom this monster was taking over and making advances on Ran – he didn't know.

He snapped out of it, and saw that he was very close to Ran's face – within a motion to kiss her no doubt. Disgusted with himself, he would have liked nothing more than to sweep her up and kiss her, throwing her inside his house and giving into primal urges on the comfort of his living room couch.

"It doesn't matter anyway," he finally said, and his voice broke Kotobuki out of her own daze.

"What doesn't matter?" she snapped. He looked away again, free of her strong grasp and forcing himself into a serene, Zen-like expression. However, she could tell in his eyes there was so much disappointment, regret – even shame.

His feelings – his stupid, annoying feelings had caused all this. He felt awkward now with Ran in front of him, and he hated it.

"I apologize for my boldness…"

"Oto-chi…"

"I should be getting to bed now …"

"Oto-chi..." Her voice was stern, but seemed to purr in his ears. He braved a motion and turned to look at her. When their eyes met, she knew something had changed.

She didn't want anything to change with her friends – least of all with Otohata.

So before he could suck her up in his misery cloud, she did the one thing that first came to her mind.

She punched him – square in the stomach. He coughed and cried on impact, more shocked than pained at her action.

"Don't you dare give me that sad, boo-hoo lip again! Do you hear me? And if you try that again I'll punch you to the moon! I am not some willy-nilly tan ko-gal to go from one guy to the next!"

He retained his balance and stood up, expecting to see anger on her face for him coming on to her. Instead, she was smiling at him in good nature. She cocked her head and pointed a faux nail at him.

"Do you understand me, Rei-chan?"

He chuckled, and felt stupid for his behavior. He was grateful at least, that Ran was covering it with her no-nonsense attitude. He should have expected it anyway, since Ran Kotobuki didn't give into romantic endeavors – not any of the sorts.

"I know," he finally said, still rubbing his bruised gut.

"Well, then," Ran coughed away the uncomfortable air. "I better not see this weird attitude of yours tomorrow. Got that?"

He nodded, and Ran beamed at him.

"Now, that's settled…" Ran peered inside of his house. "Do you have any cookies or candy in there? All that tension made me hungry!"

Stunned and mildly touched at the turn of events, Rei couldn't help muse that such actions of hers just made him like her even more.

TBC…


	3. Unsociable Rei

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Wow! Thanks for the support and input, guys! I love you all.
> 
> Just a quick note: I was spelling Ran's pet name for Rei, "Oto-chi" like in the CMX manga version, but then I realized that ADV subtitles it "Ototchi." I prefer the former version, so for no more inconsistencies since this story is mostly based on the manga canon, I'm going to keep that spelling instead.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> EDIT: Thanks to Ginzamonster for the correction on Ikebukuro!

When Kotobuki Ran was finished and satisfied stuffing her face with hamburgers, she looked around at her group of friends and finally realized something was off as they all gathered at the local fast food place.

"Where's Oto-chi?" she asked noisily with bits of food flying here and there. Of course, this was the great Ran Kotobuki, so no one got visibly disgusted with her behavior.

The only person who ever did was Rei, and the lack of his snide comments had finally clued her in on his absence.

"Ah uh, yeah, he is gone again today, isn't he?" Tatsukichi mirrored her realization.

With the mention of Rei's name, Aya began to look depressed. There were still residual unease in reaction to the Katase-kun problem, and Aya was hoping to see Rei's solemn face to cheer her up. However, as usual, Rei was Mr. Unsociable. Not meaning to show how Rei's absence affected her, Ran had immediately clued in on Aya's distress anyway. She gave Aya a sympathetic look and then narrowed her eyes. When Yuya was about to say something regarding Rei, she cut him off.

"Bah! Whatever! How typical…" She placed a soothing hand on Aya's shoulder, and then waved her other hand in the air listlessly. "He'll come around. It's no wonder he's not here today anyway."

Her last statement seemed to pique everyone's interest, everyone but Mami, who was content to keep her eyes on Yuya to make sure he didn't delve too much attention on Ran instead of her.

"Why do you say that, Ran?" Miyu asked, and everyone focused his or her attention on Ran as usual.

With her normal nonchalance, Ran shook her head and said plainly, "Ah well, he probably doesn't want to come around me after I threatened him a bit."

"Wha?" Aya exclaimed as everyone else gasp. "Ran, why did you threaten Otohata-kun?"

"Calm down, calm down. I only told him I'd punch him if he came onto me like that again."

Now this time, Tatsukichi and Aya were the first to stand in indignant surprise. Ran wasn't one to lie, but the story didn't really fit Otohata's personality. Yuya only watched her with a worried expression; it was almost if he knew something like this was going to come up.

"He came onto you? No way! I can't believe it!" Aya exclaimed.

"Yah, yah, I knew it! He likes you, doesn't he Ran?" Tatsukichi inquired.

Ran stopped smiling and looked at them all seriously. Then, she got that same fire in eyes when she spouted off her speeches of justice. "No, he doesn't. I asked him about it, and he told me no."

Everyone visibly relaxed, and Tatsukichi and Aya fell back into their seats in relief.

"Tch." Mami said. "You all are so naïve." She slammed her cup down and looked around at them all with commanding eyes. "He's obviously covering his ass."

Ran didn't look into her eyes – which Mami found interesting – and then she stood up and lazily brushed off such a possibility. "Nah, the come-on was just a bad joke. It was the same as when we first met. He was bothered by me asking him questions, wanted me to leave him alone, so he thought he could get rid of me easily by playing that same old trick again."

"Trick?" Tatsukichi seemed confused. Of course, he didn't know anything about the time Ran and Rei first met.

"Hrm…yeah, the first time we met Ran-chan," Yuya explained, "Rei thought Ran-chan was just another cheap kogal after his bag. He came onto her, not expecting her to get all righteous like our Ran-chan." Yuya sighed. "That's Rei, for you. He's a master at warped jokes."

"Yep, yep," Ran nodded approvingly of Yuya's response. She grinned evilly as she thought about it. "Ah, the fateful meeting: number one gal versus the clean cut jerk!"

Mami rolled her eyes at the dramatics as everyone giggled.

"That day is important for me as well," Aya chimed in. "If it wasn't for Ran, I would be in a bad situation now."

"Hmmm," Yuya nodded. "Same for me. I became friends with Ran-chan about the same time as Aya-chan too. That's our Ran-chan for you."

"Ran is SUPER great!" Tatsukichi yelled, jumping up from the table and rattling everyone's dishes. Everyone giggled and Ran nodded cockily soaking up the attention.

"Idiots," Mami said under her breath. She wiped her mouth daintily and got up from her seat, an annoyed expression on her face. Then, she gave a stern look to Yuya and said, "I can't take this anymore. I'm going back to Ikebukuro. I expect you back there when you're done playing with these simpletons." Mami shot Ran another bored look, and Ran could do nothing but give her a lazy smirk.

"Wait, Mami-Rin …" Yuya had called after his girlfriend stomped out. He prepared to follow her but Ran ended up going after her instead. She shot him back a look to let him know she wanted to talk to Mami alone first.

"Hey, Mami-Rin!" Ran bellowed as both girls exited the fast food diner. Mami seemed indifferent to acknowledge her, so Ran tugged at her arm to spin her around. Mami's face still seemed mildly annoyed.

"I can't believe you, Kotobuki, going on like that! Where's the merit in putting on that front about Otohata Rei?"

Ran released her grip on Mami's arm and got a pensive look on her face. "I had to. You don't know how sensitive Aya and Tatsukichi are. You don't know how they'd react if that were true."

"So? They should learn the truth, no matter how much it hurts. What kind of gal deludes her friends like that?"

Ran smiled at Mami genuinely. "You really are a great gal, Mami-Rin. I always knew it." She crossed her arms and looked serious now. "But I want to wait on revealing everything. I'm not sure about Otohata's intentions. It could be something he prefers to keep to himself. Until I know more, I don't want to get everyone carried."

Mami looked at her and then sighed. "Huh, whatever. It's your problem. Still, if you want my opinion, I think Otohata Rei is better for you than tan monkey boy."

Ran chuckled and folded her arms behind her head giving her a goofy grin. "Now, since when has your opinion mattered to me, Mami-Rin?"

Mami harrumphed. "Well, that's because you're an idiot, Kotobuki."

Ran continued to grin at her as Mami prepared to leave. Suddenly, she ran back into the restaurant with her usual rushed disposition. "Yuya! What's taking you so long! We're leaving for Ikebukuro! Sheesh! Quit dawdling."

"Ah, but…" Yuya looked stunned and embarrassed, and not to incite the wrath of Mami any further, he reluctantly complied.

"See you later, guys." He sighed and then did the march of DOOM back to Mami's side. Ran nudged him playfully as he walked by her, and she made her way back into the diner to her friends.

For the rest of the evening Ran Kotobuki played it cool. None of her friends knew that Mami's words actually settled deeply within her brain.

Otohata Rei was once again not sorry for missing out on another get together with Ran and the group. He was, after all, a little leery of seeing Ran again after their encounter the other night. He was grateful for any distraction that could pull him away from interacting with the boisterous group, and the fact that Tatsuki had reservations about his feelings toward Ran was unsettling for him.

He'd rather not see any of them, not Tatsuki, or Aya, or least of all Ran. Ran would play off their conversation as nothing, and although he wanted that, he could not deny her disposition would still hurt – and he'd be more prone to stay away from those feelings if need be.

So he immersed himself in his music. He had been getting more gigs as a DJ lately, and he was even getting more exposure beyond Shibuya. He had felt so inspired that he started composing his own works. After he finished work, he would go home, camp out in his basement and try his hand at mixing music on his computer. For several months he had been struggling with one track, and lately, since his conversation with Ran, he had been more inspired to go back to it – as well as start developing offshoot mixes in respect to it.

Overall, Rei was thoroughly pleased – his relationship with Aya and feelings for Ran were great for artistic fuel. He prided himself on the levels he had achieved and was even hopeful and determined to have his first track publicly released.

That opportunity didn't really present itself until Rei got a call from Rinjou Yumiko, a rising Japanese idol and consequently, the sister of an owner at one of the clubs where he DJed.

"Otohata-san, I would be pleased if you came up with a mix for my new single, "Blue Alive Beat". My manager thinks it will be an instant hit, and I want to prepare my fans with the option of a dance mix as well," she had asked him cordially.

He was shocked and inwardly ecstatic, but he couldn't help but doubt himself right away.

"I am thoroughly honored, Rinjou-san. But may I ask, out of all the DJs in Shibuya, why did you pick me?"

She smiled sweetly at him and winked. "I snuck out the other night of a boring award's dinner into a Para-Para event that you were DJing at. I was lucky that my brother knew you when I asked. You were terrific!"

Rei sighed, and smiled sheepishly. 'If she only knew I hate Para-Para.'

"So, will you do it?" she asked eagerly. Her brown eyes lit up and she watched him with a hopeful expression. He couldn't believe that with a young singer this popular, she was still so innocent and genuinely effervescent. Rei admired her for it, for sure.

"Of course, I wouldn't think of refusing." Then, Yumiko squealed and shook his hand excitedly.

And so, his career was beginning…

TBC…


	4. Much Ado About Aya

Ran stuffed an octopus ball into her mouth and chewed loudly. Aya gave her a miserable look, and Miyu just seemed exasperated with the both of them.

"The jig is up, Aya," Ran finally said, her face full of seriousness. Food was usually a priority with Ran, but now she seemed to be all about business.

"If you already know about Otohata's feelings, you don't have to bother hiding them from me." Ran licked her lips free of food, and Aya's mouth opened in shock. As always, Ran was more intuitive about people's feelings than anyone gave her credit for. This time was no different.

"So…" hesitated Aya, and then looked into her eyes sadly. "You know… you know how he feels about you then?"

Ran stopped chewing for a moment and stared at her directly. She paused, and her eyes seemed to bore through Aya in concern. She nodded once. It took only that one motion for Aya to feel devastated. Ran quickly picked up on Aya's bruised feelings. Cringing, she waited for the waterworks. Ran loved Aya dearly, but sometimes even she couldn't handle her low self-esteem. Ran put her hand on Aya's shoulder and smiled confidently.

"It doesn't mean I feel the same, Aya," Ran replied, and she loved the way Aya's eyes lit up when she said that. 'Good, then maybe she can start moving on – one step at a time.'

"You don't?"

Ran sighed, and then her hand from Aya's arm returned to the toothpick stuck in an octopus ball. "How many times do I have to tell everyone Oto-chi is so not my type? I'm not into clean-cut dudes. Besides, he may be okay for you, but how can you deal with his negative personality? I mean, c'mon! He's always lecturing me, he won't do my homework, and he keeps trying to convince me to change from being a gal! Well, I say a big F-You to that!"

Miyu chimed in beside her and decided to add her thoughts. "Miyu thinks Oto-chi likes you for the way you are, Ran. He's very insistent that Aya be more like her true self and stop copying everyone else. Maybe he's just harder on you Ran because he likes you."

"Hmph. Funny way to show that you like a girl," Ran snorted.

"Otohata-kun is a funny guy," Aya responded nervously, her sorrow masked momentarily by a pensive smile.

Ran waved her hand in the air and looked away from them, staring outside instead. Ran really didn't want to delve more into the issue. It was bad enough that Tatsukichi was starting to worry about the Rei-situation too.

'I don't want something like this to break up our group of friends,' she mused to herself, feeling a bit depressed as well and not liking that feeling at all. Ran Kotobuki did not get depressed – especially for some guy's unrequited feelings. And she was used to guys liking her so much when she didn't like them back. She was popular – and it was easy to just put them out of her mind and move on.

So why did it feel that she considered Otohata Rei different from any of those jerks?

'Because,' she answered herself inwardly. 'Otohata's not anywhere near the likes of those guys. Rei is…'

"Well, I for one don't care about this anymore. If Rei likes me, it's his own problem!" Ran clenched her fists, and her eyes looked ahead with vigor. "I have Tatsukichi now, and I would never hurt a friend and take away her man! That's just something true Gals don't do." She turned to Aya and gave her a victory sign.

Miyu giggled, and Aya seemed enamored with her words, relieved that she had such a good friend.

Then, Ran turned around and leaned her head against Aya's shoulder and said in a sweet, needy voice, "And since I'm such a good friend, I think I deserve a little homework help with this history paper. What do you think, Aya-ppe?"

Aya giggled, and reluctantly agreed.

After a speech like that, Ran knew that Aya couldn't refuse.

Aya returned home for the night after hanging out with Miyu and Ran. Right away when she walked into the door, she realized her father was probably still at work, and her mother was in the kitchen, and she didn't even bother welcoming her.

Aya sighed. It was just as well; practically every one of her evenings was exactly like this. It was a good thing that she could rely on such good friends.

She doubted she'd even survive the days if it weren't for Miyu and Ran.

Musing to herself about her good fortune, Aya's thoughts constantly backtracked to what Ran had said that night, and how Ran didn't return Rei's feelings. And Aya would never forget that confession, not too long ago, when Rei told her exactly how he felt about Ran. For many nights, she kept picturing that moment as it revolved around her brain like a broken record.

She felt so frazzled she thought she'd stop breathing.

"Yes, I like her a lot. There. Satisfied?"

Of course she wasn't satisfied, but she had to ask him to be sure. And Rei was right… she always did set herself up for those types of situations.

'I wonder why he's even been with me this whole time anyway. Did he feel forced?' Aya hated to think Rei felt forced to date her, that maybe she was so much of a hateful person – shy and clingy – that he felt it necessary to humble her in case she went mental if he didn't.

'Am I that bad?'

Sometimes she hated the person she was, and she had really thought that Rei was giving her the confidence to improve herself. She thought that with his support – with him by her side – she could grow into a more likable person.

But now that he confessed to her that he liked someone else, her best friend no less, where did she go from here?

Tears began to escape from her eyes, and she felt somewhat satisfied that at this moment, no one in her family was around enough to notice her tears. She was alone and crying, without anyone to look at her with contempt or pity.

'Why am I always crying?' She didn't know the answer, but she'd like to know. She'd like Rei to tell her, anyone…

But then Aya would just be relying on herself again, and she'd feel even more ashamed that she wasn't even strong enough to fix her own life.

The only positive thing in all this was that Ran didn't return Rei's feelings. Rei might not like her anymore, and things may even be completely finished between them, but despite everything, Ran was still there for her.

At least, she didn't have to lose them both.

But Aya still felt unsettled. She really wanted the courage to move beyond Rei. She really wanted to find closure, to have strength to be on her own – the kind of strength that girls like Ran wore on their sleeves.

'In order to do this, I have to see him again. I have to talk to him to find out if it's finally over – if we're finally through.'

Suddenly, she felt her skin get goose bumps. What if she buckled under the pressure and couldn't confront him? What if she couldn't do it? She didn't know if she could bear the pain of finally losing Rei.

'I can't keep living this lie, though.' She sat up from her bed and raised her chin defiantly. 'I can't force Rei to go out with me if he doesn't want to. I'm not going to be that kind of girl.'

And she felt resolve bubble within her insides, and she knew exactly what she had to do. She would call Rei about everything tomorrow. And if nothing from their relationship could be salvaged, then she would truly end it.

She wasn't doing this just for Rei either. No, she had to be strong and finalize everything for herself. It would be her first step in doing things her way without relying on others.

Aya smiled to that thought and waited patiently for that opportunity.

Rei rubbed his hands together and exhaled his hot breath into his gloves to warm his hands. The weather had gotten cold again, and snow from a rising storm was beginning to accumulate over the remnants of the last snowfall. He groaned.

"Rei-kun!" called a bubbly woman behind him. He recognized the voice instantly and turned around to greet her.

"Rinjou Yumiko-san," he said bowing, and she smiled at his formality. She swatted her hand at him and giggled.

"No need to do that, Rei-kun. We're friends now, right?" She beamed at him and then added, "It took you forever to let me call you Rei-kun without having you turn white as a sheet."

She played with her pink fuzzy scarf as he shifted awkwardly in front of her. "What is it you wanted to see me so urgently about, if I may ask?" Rei looked around and almost grimaced. 'In the middle of Shibuya during snowfall at night, of all places.'

Yumiko fidgeted with her gloves and looked at the snow on the ground. She seemed to be thinking of something very important, and Rei watched excitement tug at her lips as if she was going to burst.

"My producer loved the remix you collaborated on, Rei. Thank you very much for your hard work!" she announced instantly, and Rei felt his stomach flip flop in excitement. His face beamed into a proud yet tempered grin.

"Not at all. Thank you for giving me the opportunity, Yumiko-san." Rei bowed again.

Yumiko giggled. "Oh, you, stop that!" She grabbed onto his jacket sleeve and bounced. "Listen, my producer wants to do a video of that remix for an enhanced CD. Isn't that exciting?" Rei saw her hazel eyes glow brightly from excitement.

Rei nodded. "And you need my help with the video track?"

"Not only that, silly!" Yumiko bounced again. "I want you to be IN the video! You know, playing the DJ!"

Rei gaped. 'Me? Be in a video?'

"See? You totally have the look," Yumiko said, waving her hands in a frame around his face. She rubbed her chin pensively. "Yes, you're quite the work of art." Then she laughed at her own quirky joke.

Rei smiled. "But of course I'll do it."

"Yay!" Yumiko jumped and threw her arms in the air. Rei felt her excitement become contagious, and he laughed along with her.

Suddenly, she stopped celebrating as if she remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot." She dug into her coat pocket, and Rei watched her as she brought out a magazine clipping. Rei cocked his head curiously at her. "Listen, I also need dancers for this video. I wanted people who were local, and since my song is a great beat for Para-Para dancers, I need some exceptional people. Since you've turned discs at local clubs, I wonder if you would help me recruit."

"Recruit?" Rei responded puzzled.

"Yes," Yumiko unfolded the clipping and handed it too him. Rei's eyes widened when he looked down at the picture.

"I was wondering if you know this girl. I've seen her at Para-Para clubs before, and she's in several local teen magazines. She has exactly the look I want for my dancers. She also looks like she has connections to recommend more dancers from Shibuya." Yumiko seemed intrigued at Rei's silence, his eyes burning a hole into her magazine clipping.

"Rei-kun? Is there something wrong? You do know her, don't you?" Yumiko smiled and her eyes lit up. She nudged him in the ribs.

"Wow, she must be special to get a reaction like that." Rei didn't reply; all he managed to do was swallow an uncomfortable lump in his throat.

"Yes, I know her. Her name is Kotobuki Ran," Rei said, and as he looked at Yumiko's expectant face, he just knew he couldn't refuse her, even if Ran was involved.

This was about his career, after all.

"Don't worry, Yumiko-san. I will definitely ask Kotobuki if she can help you."

And as soon as he said the words, his heart seemed to knot up with dread.

To be continued…


	5. Rising Opportunities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH, the last episodes of Super Gals are so good! Hilarious as usual, but what a great series! I do prefer the manga, but at least there are Ran and Rei moments on the last episode. Woot! Still, they left it rather open ended, so I'm going to work on that. Until then, this story is going to start diverting from the canon, and most definitely goes beyond their last high school years.
> 
> Thanks you so much for your support of this story. I know this fandom isn't very big, but I really do enjoy writing this.
> 
> Enjoy!

"Yes, yes, Yuya, I understand that," Rei said in exasperation. His cell phone was propped between his ear and his shoulder as he worked on making his breakfast. His house was still parents-free, so he had to make his meals himself – not that he minded, and he was rather good at it too. "I know it's going to be a disappointment to Aya, but I've made up my mind. I'm going to college, and she can follow me at the same college if she wants, but I'm telling you that I'm not going to be there. I'm studying abroad for at least a year."

"But Rei, Aya-chan is giving up her scholarship to the women's college for you; doesn't that mean anything to you?" Yuya reminded him.

Rei let out another sigh and said, "Look, Aya is a big girl. She can make her own decisions. I cannot let this opportunity slip by. Yumiko-san is touring on the West Coast of America all next summer, and she wants to take me with her. Meanwhile my college here has a study abroad program that partners with UCLA, so I'll be busy working on my entrance essays and applications."

"But Rei…" Yuya whined, and Rei was impressed on how much the boy was concerned for Aya's feelings. Well, Rei was concerned for Aya's feelings too, but lately he couldn't help but wanting to get far, far away from Ran, Aya, and the whole mess.

"Listen, Yuya, I bet Aya would appreciate knowing how much you're looking out for her, but really, she's not a child."

"Come on, Rei. Stop acting so nonchalant. Please don't tell me this whole time you've been dating Aya, you've felt nothing for her," Yuya retorted.

"Of course not. I feel… something. I consider her one of my best friends," Rei responded honestly, but there was a trickle of uncertainty in his voice.

"That's not how she sees you, Rei. The girl really loves you, and you keep hurting her," Yuya explained, which earned an audible scoff from Rei.

"Then maybe it's a sign, Yuya, that we're just not meant to be," Rei replied through gritted teeth. "Look, it's neither here nor there. I'm concentrating on my schooling and my career as a DJ, and that all starts with Yumiko-san. If Aya can't handle that, then I suggest we start moving on."

"Yeesh, Rei. You're so cruel. No wonder you leave a trail of heartbroken girls in your wake," Yuya groaned. Then he added, "Please tell me truthfully, if you were to ask yourself, who is the number one person in your heart? What would you say? Is it Aya? Because if it isn't, if she's just second in your heart, then it's not worth it… no one deserves that type of heartache."

Rei sighed heavily again. "What do you know about that?"

"How can you ask me that? I've been number two in Ran's heart since we met, and it took me awhile to finally realize that and move on. As much as it hurt, I moved on, and now I'm happy with Mami-Rin. I think you need to give Aya the same kind of credit. It was obvious that Ran wasn't interested in me that way, and now it looks like you treat Aya the same."

"Yuya…" Rei paused, and then exhaled heavily. "I'm sorry." Then, the call waiting on his cell phone beeped at him, and he was relieved to find a way out of this conversation. "Look, man, I have to go; I'm getting another call, and then I have to make a call to Kotobuki."

"Rei…" Yuya began to chide him. "Don't start anything with Kotobuki, okay? I think you should avoid her for a while. Aya and Tatsukichi are still down about your open feelings, and Ran has been edgy and raving more than usual."

"Relax, Yuya," Rei responded, unable to stop the smirk from a quick image of ranting Kotobuki. "It is just business. Yumiko-san saw Ran Para-Para dance and wants to recruit her for her music video mix."

"What? But that would mean you would have to work with Kotobuki! Hey…!"

"I have to go now, Yuya. Bye." Rei quickly switched to the other call, drowning out Yuya's immediate protests. Groaning to himself, he addressed the other caller. "Yo, Aya."

"Otohata-kun, hello. Sorry if I'm calling at a bad time," she immediately apologized. Rei bit his lip.

"It's no problem. I was just talking to Yuya," Rei said, his eyes burning a hole in the dish he prepared for breakfast. Hopefully Aya's call was quick so he could finally eat it. Yuya's nagging was still echoing in his ear, and now he had to deal with Aya's apologies. He frowned that his day was not starting out so well.

"Otohata-kun, I was calling because I wanted to know if I could come over to see you today?" she asked quickly, and he could sense the anxiety in her voice.

"Hn. I don't see why not. Although, I do have an appointment today around 1 o'clock, so could you come after three?" Rei suggested.

"Oh! Of course! I'm sorry; I should have realized you'd be busy," Aya replied politely. Rei smiled at her genuine meekness.

"No problem at all," he said, not offering much. He was sure Aya's brain was spinning to what this appointment could be. He changed the subject. "So…tell me why you decided to give up that scholarship and try for the public universities?"

"Um… well," Aya stuttered, taken aback. "I wanted to make a decision for myself and not just go with the flow, you know? I think it will be a great challenge."

"Hrmm, that's good to hear. I'm glad you're taking some initiative," Rei said conversationally. "Speaking of initiative, I don't know if Yuya told you, but I got some great opportunities to expand my job as a DJ. A couple of local musicians and music clubs are banging down my door left and right to hire me for their shows. I'm spinning at a new club in Shibuya called Ryo-E."

"Oh, that's wonderful! No, Nii-kun didn't say anything about it. He just said you've been very busy lately, so that's why you haven't been around." Her voice sounded lighter now, like she was happy he was revealing something to her. He didn't know how to tell her about the offer by Yumiko-san, especially since Yumiko-san was a huge pop idol, and he didn't want to seem like a braggart to have an 'in' with a celebrity. He smiled to himself; he was sure telling Aya wouldn't be a big deal though.

"Listen, when you come over, I'll tell you about an even bigger surprise," Rei said, and he hoped that Aya didn't get her hopes too high on what that was. He was sure the news about traveling abroad with Yumiko-san's music entourage would probably depress her, but he wanted her to see his face of excitement about the opportunity.

'It's time for you to grow up, Aya, and me too,' he thought sternly to himself. Aya squealed slightly on the phone.

"Oh, I can't wait to hear it now! I'm excited," Aya exclaimed, and Rei chuckled in response.

"Come on, it's not that amazing," Rei said with aloofness, and Aya giggled on the other line.

"Well, I have to go and finish breakfast, and make a quick call to Kotobuki. She's around today, isn't she? I don't want to call her at an inopportune time."

Aya's mood seemed to change drastically, and her tone was startled and cold on the other line. "Um… Ran… yeah, she's around. She's probably sleeping right now. It might be too early." Rei heard Aya inhale a deep breath. He was sure she was disturbed that he mentioned Ran at all.

'Yuya's right. Everyone has gone really mental with this whole issue between Ran and me,' Rei thought, feeling a bit annoyed. 'It's not even that big of a deal. It's not like I'm going after her or forcing Aya to endure this.'

"So…Aya, you still there?" Rei said, his tone slightly teasing.

"Oh, yes! Sorry, I was in a daze. Um… I'll let you go then and enjoy your breakfast. I'll see you at three, okay?" she rambled off quickly. Rei made a noise of affirmation and then Aya added, "I have something really important to discuss with you. Good-bye."

And when Aya hung up, Rei's heart seemed to freeze. There was an ache in his head, and his chest hurt. Damn, he hated when he made Aya cry, and he was sure that's what she was doing after they hung up.

"Gees," Rei said aloud, jamming his chopsticks through his rice. He shook his head, put his phone down, and started to eat. "I'm no good at this." After taking only about a few bites of his meal, he stopped and threw the chopsticks down.

After those calls with both Yuya and Aya, he had definitely lost his appetite. And he still hadn't even gotten to the call with Ran.

Rei sat in silence after cleaning up his barely eaten breakfast. Something just didn't sit well with him. He knew that he had to abide by Yumiko-san's wishes because she was his employer, but why did she want Ran Kotobuki of all people?

Maybe Yuya was right. Should he really be worried about working with Ran on this video? It was quite possible she would readily accept since it involved money, Para-Para and a celebrity. Who would refuse that?

Sighing, he was about to leave his phone on the table and go outside for some fresh air and a quick walk around the block. However, as he was about to open the door and step out into the fresh sunlight, his cell started to ring.

He sighed. Sometimes, he wished he didn't have the damned thing.

Walking over to the phone, the screen blinked "Kotobuki" to identify the oncoming call. Rei clenched his jaw; he was meaning to call her anyway, but word probably came from either Aya or Yuya that he was looking for her.

"Yo, Kotobuki," he answered, and suddenly his ears were assaulted.

"Don't 'yo' me, you jerk! You know I'm really sick of dealing with Aya's crying when it comes to you!" Ran yelled at him, and Rei sighed audibly.

"Why do you deal with it? I haven't the faintest idea why she was crying. She seemed happy to come over to my house today. I don't get you girls at all," Rei snapped at her.

"Why? Why? She was crying because of you! There's no mystery there. You must have said something, like you normally do, to set her off. Gees, what a pain!"

"You know, Kotobuki, I know you pride yourself on being a good friend and an even greater kogal …" Rei paused and his voice was rich with sarcasm, "but don't you think that your friends can take care of themselves? And for your information, I didn't say anything remotely mean to Aya, so I don't know why she was crying. She's sensitive about everything. So tell me, Kotobuki, since she's closest to you, just why was she crying? Did she tell you?"

Rei could imagine Ran now pouting in her room, as she said nothing at first. "I don't know, but it had to be something you said. What did you say?"

Rei sighed in exasperation. "She asked me if she could come over today, that she had something to tell me. I agreed, but I said I had an appointment at one. I told her about the DJ gig I have at Ryo-E, and then I said I had a surprise for her when she came over. I told her I had to get going then, and that I had to call you. So, what's the big deal? How could any of that make a person cry?"

"Ha! You mentioned that you were calling me! She's still really weird about that whole thing, you know. You should treat that more delicately."

"Please," Rei said rolling his eyes. "I'm tired of that issue, and she should just get over it."

Ran sighed into the phone. "But she can't Rei, you know that." Ran paused, and there was silence between them through the phones. Finally Ran added, "So, what's the big surprise? And why did you want to call me anyway?"

"It's the same thing, actually. I got an opportunity to mix for a very up and coming pop singer. I'm traveling to California this summer."

"WHA?! You're kidding me! No way!" Ran screamed in the phone; suddenly, she was hyper again.

"Yep, and it has something to do with you. Do you know who Rinjou Yumiko is?"

"Do I! Anyone who's anyone on the scene knows who Rinjou-Y is! Her songs are at the top of all the Para-Para dance clubs, not to mention she is one styling mat-gal. All of Shibuya idolizes her and tries to dress like her," Ran babbled. Rei smiled, even more eager to break the news.

"Well, it so happens, she thinks pretty highly of you, Kotobuki," Rei said smiling widely.

"Hey, stop joking! What's this about?"

"I'm not joking, Kotobuki. You know my sense of humor, and I'm not this cruel," Rei responded, and he heard Ran snort on the other line.

"Yeah, yeah, so what's Rinjou-Y have to do with me?"

"I'm working for her now. I'm doing her mix tracks on a couple of her hits for an EP," Rei said bluntly, and he heard Kotobuki choking on something in the background. Was she always stuffing food into her face? Rei continued, "And… since I know Yumiko-san pretty well, she asked me about you. She had been incognito at that club you were dancing at – you know, the one where you begged me to DJ and all the music was ear-bleeding Para-Para tunes?"

Ran made a strange incoherent noise on the phone, and Rei finally said, "Well, she saw you there, liked your dance moves, and since she's only recruiting local people for this video – shooting in Shibuya – she wants you to dance for her. And, she wants you to possibly recruit other dancers as well."

First there was a bit of scary silence, and then Rei heard Ran scream. "Oh my GOD! No way! This is a gal's dream come true. Rinjou-Y wants me? The great Kotobuki Ran? Ahh! This is so awesome! This is unreal…you better not be joking around Otohata, or I'll beat you! Whoooa! I can't believe it!"

"Okay, okay, I understand your excitement," Rei said, bringing the phone away from his poor tortured ear. "Now, the reason I'm calling is she wants to meet you. Today. And you know that appointment I mentioned having at one? Well, that's her. So do you want the job or not?"

"HELL YES! I'd be stupid not to take the job! Whee! Oh thank you, Otohata!" Ran cried in jubilation.

"Yeesh, don't thank me. It was Yumiko-san that spotted you out. I had nothing to do with it."

"Yeah, I know, but I would have never met her without you somehow!" Ran said cheerfully. Rei sighed as he continued to hear her jumping around and screaming in joy in the receiver.

Finally he said, "Now get here at one. I know you're excited, so don't get here too early. Yumiko-san is usually a little late on occasion, so try to get her at a reasonable time. If you miss this appointment, you'll miss a chance to be a dancer in a Rinjou-Y video."

"O-K!" Ran affirmed happily. "I wouldn't miss this for anything!"

To be continued…


	6. The Right Mix

"Hello, I'm here!" Ran announced cheerfully as Rei opened the door for her. He gave her an exasperating look. Not only was she twenty minutes early, but also she had hauled oodles of Rinjou-Y merchandise with her. Wearing a Rinjou-Y t-shirt, she grinned happily at Rei as he surveyed all her stuff. She carried a few shopping bags with her full of CDs, magazines, and other various items specifically of Rinjou Yumiko-san.

"What the heck is all this stuff?" Rei asked in annoyance. Ran flashed him an innocent smile.

"Oh, nothing really, just a few things I'm going to ask Rinjou-Y to sign for me!" Ran replied.

"A few … things? You must be joking!" Rei sighed. "I'm not letting you bring that stuff into my house. Ran, it looks really bad if you're slobbering all over her like a brain-dead fan. Please… can't you just bring in only a few items?"

"I am a slobbering fan and proud of it! Besides, my friends asked me to get some things signed for them. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't do that? Huh? Those poor girls will never meet a fabulous star like Rinjou-Y, and when I tell them the ice prince stopped me from helping them achieve their dreams, they're just going to die! Be a sport, Rei! C'mon, whadda ya say?" Ran gave him puppy eyes and a pout that would make a politician cry.

Rei sighed. "Fine. I don't care," he said bitingly. "Just act your age, alright? Try to be professional and don't embarrass me."

"Yay!" Ran squealed, hauling her stuff inside Rei's house. Rei lumbered in behind her, and Ran turned around and winked at him. "I can get you to do anything, can't I?" she purred happily at him, and he gave her a sour look.

"Don't rub it in. I'm only letting you do this because I don't want you to whine anymore. Sheesh, you are full of stories aren't you?" Rei's annoyed demeanor cooled, and he gave her a lazy grin.

Ran beamed at him, and then looked away. "So she's not here yet? Well, it's only natural since she's a star." Ran bounced again. "Oooh, I can't wait to meet her."

"Okay, okay," Rei said, putting a hand on her arm and motioning her to the basement. "She should be here soon. Since she may want to listen to my mixes, we have to go downstairs."

Ran's eyes sparkled with interest. "Ooh, we get to go into your secret lair?" Ran snickered as Rei gave her an impatient look.

"Yes, which means you must be very special to be allowed down there," Rei replied seriously. He turned from her gaze, as Ran appeared slightly stunned. She must have noticed the look in his eyes when he said that, even if he was trying to make a joke.

"So…" Ran began to turn the conversation elsewhere. "Since you're going to be working for Rinjou-Y, does that mean you're still going to college?"

"Of course," Rei answered, and he started to pass her and descend the stairs as Ran followed behind. "I have no intention of giving up my studies, in fact… I'm going to transfer to UCLA after Yumiko-san's tour this summer."

Ran froze, and Rei turned around to see that she had stopped in the middle of the steps. She looked at him with a frown.

"You're… you're going away to America?" Disappointment rang in her voice. Rei smiled at her, hoping she was really upset he was leaving.

"Yep, this is something I've always wanted."

"But what about Aya?" Ran asked right away, and Rei inwardly frowned.

`Oh, so that's why she's upset. She's concerned for Aya.' Rei audibly sighed and turned around, switching on the light and descending farther into the basement.

"What about Aya? She's got her own decisions too," Rei said harshly. Then, Ran began stomping down the stairs.

"How can you say that after all she has done for you? You know that she gave up that women's scholarship to go to college with you? And then you're just going to leave…"

Rei groaned, and he spun around to face her, his temper beginning to flare. "Look, Kotobuki, I'm tired of everyone telling me how much I've hurt Aya, how she cries and cries because I won't notice her feelings. I know all about her feelings, but no one seems to care that I have feelings too!" His calm demeanor dissolved and he came up to her face. Ran didn't back down and gave him a challenging look.

"Oh, yeah? You have feelings? Why don't you ever express them then? Why don't you just cut her loose…"

"I try," he said, his voice cracking with disappointment. His temper subsided and his expression turned delicate. He watched Ran with longing. "But she won't let me go, and if I let her go … if I don't give her a chance, than the person I'm really doing it for will hate me." Ran's eyes widened with shock. Rei looked away dejectedly. He finally said, "And that's something I couldn't bear."

"So you're running away then?" Ran said bitingly.

Rei snapped his head back to her and gave her a dangerous stare. "No. I'm trying to move on. Touring with Yumiko-san and going to UCLA, I'm doing that all for myself. I'm being myself… I thought you of all people would understand that."

He turned away to go back upstairs, trying to free himself from this thick atmosphere. She watched him intently, and then grabbed his arm preventing him to leave.

She was about to say something, but Rei spoke up first. "Aya's coming over this afternoon after Yumiko-san leaves; I'm telling her about my plans then. She can decide for herself what she needs to do from there." He turned around and met her eyes with fortitude. "As her friend, I wish you would encourage her to be more independent. She needs to grow up like the rest of us."

Ran nodded once, stunned by Rei's behavior. She finally smiled confidently. "Don't worry, I'll take care of Aya. You just take care of yourself. I'm … I'm glad you're doing what you want to do. You're good at DJ-ing."

"Of course." Rei gave her a wry smile. He lifted his chin. "So what are you going to do when you see my first CD just plowing through the top of the charts? Will you say… `I remembered him when'…?"

Ran chuckled and cocked her head at him. She sighed. "I was thinking more along the lines of … `oh, there's Rei Otohata, it's too bad he's not going to be famous as me.'"

"Ah, so you're planning on being a famous detective, more famous than popular idols?" he joked with her. She pouted and glared at him.

"Not in a million years am I going to be a cop." She made a grunting noise. "Gees, how many times do I have to tell people that?"

Rei laughed and leaned against his wall, watching her appreciatively. "Well, you seem so perfect for it. The ko-gal life isn't going to last forever."

She gave him a wicked smile and then walked over to him, coming inches from his face. He froze when he felt her warm breath linger over his skin. "Watch me," she said. "I'm going to be a great gal forever."

"Ah, so that's what your future entails? A professional gal?" Rei teased, trying not to stare at her soft lips. He longed to feel them and rub his hands down her hips. He hesitated, blinking in surprise as silence wedged between them, and Ran was staring at him curiously in turn. Her eyes were strangely drawn to his hair, and when he caught her watching him, she looked away and huffed.

"I'm starving!" she complained, and Rei sighed in exasperation, feeling the tension fade from the room. "And bored. When is she coming?"

Rei turned away and throw her back a look. "I'm going upstairs to make some snacks and check on the door. She should be here soon." His eyes flashed with a warning. "Don't break anything while I'm gone."

She pouted and droned sweetly, "Yes, Dad."

He grunted, not appreciating her joke and walking upstairs away from her to clear his head.

As Rei left, Ran looked around his basement to keep from getting bored. She heard Rei's light footsteps upstairs and decided to poke around his stuff while he was gone. Curiously, her eyes roamed the myriad stereo equipment, CDs, synthesizers, and speakers neatly arranged for use. Her gaze fell on a stack of CDs, and on the top one she read the label, "Yuya".

She continued to read the labels, shocked when she found other names as well. Underneath the stack of "Ayas", "Yuyas", and even "Miyus" and "Tatsukichis", she found two CDs with her name on them. Lightly, she brushed aside the CDs on top, and took out one of them with her name. On the front cover the label read, "Ran Kotobuki Mix 1". She opened the case and her eyes fell a purple CD. Looking around, she found a CD disc-man and put the CD in.

Putting the headphones in her ears, she pressed play and listened intently as a zippy, high-energy melody filtered through her ears. She could hear a woman's voice mixing in the background, singing along a cover version of an old Shonen Knife song.

She smiled, but when track two hit, she froze. A slow, haunting melody echoed in her ears, sporadically mixed with consistent electronic beats and a strong, impassioned saxophone. Ran felt her heart melt with peace, and her eyes closed, soaking in the song and letting the beats linger in her brain.

And the more she listened to Rei's mix of her… she felt at home, like it was completely meant for her.

During a pause of harmonics, Ran heard Rei's footsteps shuffling upstairs. She took the earphones out and replaced the CD back into the case. She set it back with the pile, leaving exactly as it was stacked before.

Rei's footsteps clamored down the steps into the basement, and he carried a tray of rice balls and cookies, as well as a bottle of water for Ran. He looked around his basement and peered at her curiously as Ran gave him an innocent grin. He handed her the water bottle.

"Here, and help yourself to some food."

Ran grabbed a cookie and then looked at him point blankly, "So, you made CDs of everyone?" She glanced at the stack of CDs and then back at Rei, who met her gaze calmly.

"Yep, I make mixes that mirror my perception of my friends." He shrugged, but Ran continued to eye him.

"What do mine sound like?" Ran asked bluntly.

Rei froze and then looked away awkwardly. "They're… they're not done yet." And she cocked her head curiously at his response.

The doorbell rang, and Rei arched his head to the ceiling. "She's here."

Ran hooted in celebration, and Rei gave her a stern look. She rolled her eyes, just waiting for a speech from him that she had to behave. He gave her one last warning look before setting the food down and going upstairs again.

Yumiko Rinjou bounced down the stairs, and Ran waited in excitement as she greeted her.

"Hall-o!" Yumiko announced, bowing at Ran and then smiling girlishly. Ran almost drooled as her eyes roamed over Yumiko's expensive outfit and accessories. She met Yumiko's eyes with adoration.

"Nice to meet you, Rinjou-san!" Ran replied, and Yumiko giggled. Rei watched in fascination as the two girls got along well, and he was not surprised in the least. Yumiko was very likeable, famous or not.

"Oh, please, call me Yumiko-chan. We're going to be good friends, Ran-chan," Yumiko announced, coming over to her and hooking arms. Ran welcomed Yumiko's affectionate disposition and leaned into her.

"Yeah! I'm so excited, Yumiko-chan. I'm honored you would ask for me for your video," Ran replied, and Yumiko giggled to her side.

"Don't be silly. I've seen the way you dance! You're just what I was looking for, and you have the sort of energy that brings young people together!"

Yumiko unhooked arms with her and then looked at her seriously. Still beaming with a smile, she started to talk business. "I not only need you to appear in my video, but I need to recruit other dancers as well. And… I need permission from your parents." Yumiko waved her hand in the air listlessly. "Well, we can go over the boring business stuff later. I just want to know if you want the job?"

"Oh yes! And I can bring some of my friends too! My boyfriend is an excellent Para-Para dancer!" Ran announced, but she watched Yumiko frown.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I feel so stupid!" Yumiko responded. She gave Ran an apologetic look. "I forgot to mention to Rei that I'm only hiring female dancers, and only ones that have a hip, fashionable look."

Ran's smile disappeared momentarily and then she smiled again. "Oh, that's okay! I'm sure I can find plenty of girls to fit your needs, Yumiko-chan."

"Well, good!" Yumiko said, and she held out her hand, indicating to Ran she should take it. "We have a deal then? I can have my manager type up some papers and then we can ask your parents for permission. Please let them know you'll be my employee, and I'll be paying you for the job too!"

"Yes! Whoo-hoo! I can finally save up for those new boots!" Ran celebrated, and then she turned to Yumiko again, who was giggling at her.

"Hey, do you think I could get you to sign a few things before I leave…"

"Kotobuki…" Rei said warningly.

"What?" She huffed. "You said I could, and my friends will be unhappy if I don't."

Rei sighed, and Yumiko chuckled. She glanced at Rei with admiration and then nodded to Ran's request. "Of course I'll sign some stuff for you. Anything for Rei's friends."

Ran gave her a toothy grin and thanked her. Rei watched her intently, and when she caught his gaze, she flashed him a victory sign. He sighed.

As Yumiko finished signing Ran's things, Ran's cell phone beeped with a text message. She read it and then groaned unhappily.

"Ugh, it's my dad. Sayo's in trouble again. I have to go find her," Ran announced, and Yumiko looked at her worriedly.

"Don't worry. My sister is probably out crime-fighting in Shibuya as usual. Man! I really wanted to stay and hang out with you too," she said, pouting at Yumiko.

"We'll see each other again soon! Oh, I forgot to tell you both!" She looked over at Rei and Ran. "After the final video shoot, we're having a little party at a dance club in Harajuku." She grabbed Ran and Rei's hands and said sternly, "You have to come or else." And she laughed at their stunned expressions.

Ran nodded and grinned at the idea of a party. She frowned as she realized she had to go, so she said her goodbyes. Rei and Yumiko waited in silence as she lumbered upstairs out Rei's house, carrying all her stuff.

Suddenly, Yumiko made a comment after she was gone. "Well, that's the girl, isn't it?" Yumiko walked over to his stack of CDs and caressed the top of them. Rei looked at her curiously.

"The girl?"

"The one that inspires you to mix." She turned around and gave him a rueful expression. "Don't play dumb with me. I know a lot about music, and with some of the samples you sent me, I can tell there's a feminine influence in there … and it certainly isn't that other girl you've told me about."

"Oh, you mean Aya," he said, almost snorting. "It's… complicated."

"So Ran has a boyfriend… did you miss your chance?" Yumiko asked, picking up a CD labeled with Ran's name. Rei crossed his arms in annoyance.

"I missed it a long time ago, but I'm not sad." Yumiko looked at him curiously. "I don't think she's ready for me yet."

"You mean, you won't even try?"

Rei looked away from her piercing gaze and then let out a small smile. "No, I guess I'm a coward for that. I'm afraid." He sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his temple. "I guess Ran is right… maybe I am running away to America… running away from her."

Yumiko put a comforting hand on Rei's arm and then said, "Don't say that Rei. You're doing this for yourself. There comes a point in all our lives where we need to find ourselves."

Rei was silent for a moment, and the atmosphere was thick and dry. His mind was jumbled with thoughts and desires of Ran, slowly slipping away into oblivion. He sighed.

"Yeah…I hope so."

Yumiko squeezed his arm and then turned around. "I should get going. I have to draw up those contracts. Give me Ran's number so I can call her when I need to."

Rei nodded, picking up his phone and then text-ing Ran's number to Yumiko.

Yumiko gave him one last meaningful look before she left and said, "Are you sure you can work with her on this video? Will it be too tough for you?"

Rei smiled kindly and said. "No, I can handle it. Besides, I'm rather looking forward to it." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The more I can be with her before I leave, the better."

Yumiko smiled at him and nodded. "Now that's the spirit." And Rei began walking Yumiko upstairs and toward the front door. As he opened the door, Yumiko turned around and kissed his cheek and said goodbye. They both turned around and met the surprised gaze of Aya, who was just about to knock.

Aya looked over at Yumiko, taking in her fashionable presence and then darting her eyes over to Rei, waiting for some explanation. Yumiko ducked out of the uncomfortable exchange quickly, saying one last good-bye to Rei.

The silence between them became awkward, and Aya looked like she was ready to shake.

"Otohata…" she choked out in a whisper. She still appeared shock. "Who was that?"


	7. The Middle Ground

After Yumiko darted out the door, Aya stood on Rei's stoop hesitantly for a long pause, desperately searching his eyes for an answer.

"Otohata-kun," she whispered, still waiting for his reply. Rei could see in Aya's eyes that she was troubled by Yumiko-san's presence. She was probably already making outlandish assumptions in her head. Rei sighed.

"Aya, there are things we need to talk about," Rei said as gently as he could. Aya nodded and followed him as he motioned her into the house.

The air was colder and dank as Aya walked inside, much different than the vibrant energy that Ran had brought with her. Rei pursed his lips, and he was annoyed with himself for noticing it.

"Otohata-kun," Aya said with a shaky voice. It was obvious she was trying to mask the awkward air with forced felicity. "What is the surprise you wanted to tell me about?"

"Aya-chan, the woman who just left was Rinjou Yumiko-san, the pop idol. I'm working for her now," Rei said bluntly, getting that lingering question out of the way.

"Oh," Aya answered softly. Then her eyes widened, and his information dawned on her. "Oh! So you're mixing music for her?" Rei nodded. "That's wonderful. Is that your surprise?"

Rei smiled genuinely. Despite Aya's usual somber nature, when she was happy her spirits really lifted him. He frowned inwardly that he could not completely enjoy it. He liked Aya as a friend, but…

"Well, that's part of it," Rei answered, his wry smile evoking mystery. "The biggest news is, and I don't know if you're going to be happy about it, but I'm touring with her this summer after I finish working on her EP and music videos." Aya stared at him with a dead-panned expression. "She'll be touring in some of the best clubs in California."

Rei heard Aya gasp, and she brought her hands up to her mouth in shock. She certainly hadn't expected such news.

"So you're leaving after graduation? Just for the summer?" Aya was already upset.

Rei sighed heavily again, and he looked away from her and gazed out the window. "Aya, I've decided to enroll in UCLA instead of Tokyo University. After my tour with Yumiko-san, I will stay in America and apply for my student Visa."

Aya stared at him in shock, drowning in silence. Rei tried to gauge her reaction, but she was immobile like a statue.

"Oh…I see." Aya's voice filled with emotion again. Rei predicted that the waterworks were on their way. "So you're not going to the school where I'm going at all?"

'I knew she gave up that scholarship for me and not herself,' Rei thought, inwardly annoyed with his realization. Aya's expression only confirmed she only intended to go to his college to be closer to him. 'What a waste,' he thought. She had a free ride to a college and everything. He frowned.

"Aya, I'm sorry. I know you're upset about me not going to school with you." Aya watched him as he continued, and Rei tried to maintain his composure. He needed to convince her that he was doing this for himself, for his career, and he wasn't going to stand around and settle for her or try to run away from his feelings of Ran. He let out a small laugh. "This is really a huge step, and I can't give up this opportunity."

"So… this is what you truly want?" Aya asked, and she was still shocked, struggling with her words.

"Yes, I've wanted this my whole life. I've wanted nothing more than to make music and be surrounded by it. Come here." He took her arm and led her down to his music room. Aya felt jarred, and she gasped in surprise at the feel of his touch. Quickly, he turned on the lights of his musical refuge in the basement, and Aya stared in wonder at the music equipment and CDs stacked everywhere.

"Rei! This is…" She turned to him and gave him an earnest smile. "This is what you've been doing. All those times I thought you were being anti-social, you were just working on your art."

"Well, I technically was being anti-social," Rei joked, and Aya covered her mouth while she laughed. Rei suddenly felt more at ease at the sight of her relaxing. He watched her turn around, and she immediately saw the stack of CDs and noticed her name.

Hesitantly, she picked up one of her CDs, and she turned to him with inquiring eyes.

"May I?" Aya asked. Rei leaned back and crossed his arms, nodding with permission.

Aya stuck the CD into his large stereo, and as soon as she pressed play, the basement was drowned in Opera notes and light, sorrowful harmonics. She stared into the space as the melody played, and Rei watched her closely as she absorbed the music. Her eyes turned sad, but she had a small smile on her lips.

"So this is what you think of me? You use the music to paint a picture of me." She turned to him with that sad smile. "Am I correct?"

Rei swallowed uncomfortably, and there was a bittersweet tone to Aya's question.

"All of the CDs are like that Aya. All of them are inspired through music on my feelings about each one of you."

Aya traced a finger over the stack of CDs, reading the names that appeared on the side labels. Her smile disappeared when she spotted three CDs of Ran compared to her two. Obviously, she longed to listen to what Rei felt about Ran, but Rei wondered if she was brave enough to ask.

"Rei, I came here to tell you something too," Aya said, her voice starting low and slowly rising with courage. She turned to Rei and looked into his eyes, staring straight into his soul. She clenched her jaw, and he knew Aya was displaying tremendous effort just to confront him.

"I can't say anything to express how much I want you to stay here and go to school in Japan, and frankly, it's neither my decision nor my right to stop you from your dreams. They're beautiful dreams, and I would be a heartless person to stand in the way of them." She was crying now, tears flowing down her face with ease. Her body was so used to crying it seemed so natural and expected. She sniffled and sobbed weakly, "But I want to say that I love you from the bottom of my heart, and after saying that, I want to know where we stand. I know about your feelings for Ran, and I know I can never change them. Just please, say how you truly feel about me." She paused and her lip quavered in desperation. Rei felt like a monster a thousand times over when Aya cried like that. There was no way he could handle such crying in his life any longer.

"Please, we need to settle this and make things straight. Where do we stand? Where do I stand in your heart, Rei? Do I even have a chance?"

Rei licked his lips, and he uncrossed his arms, becoming unguarded to her. Aya wanted answers, and she was brave enough to ask for them. And he couldn't agree more that they should settle things. Truthfully, Rei was unsure if Aya was the right girl for him, and any uncertainty after this long was probably a good sign that she wasn't.

"Aya," Rei said, and he sighed in exasperation. There was no easy way to reject someone, especially someone as sweet and wonderful as Aya. Things just weren't working, and he had no right to hurt her any longer. "I don't want to make you cry anymore. I don't want any more uncertainty or mixed signals. I want to be clear with you so you don't have to worry anymore."

Aya nodded, and her hands shook nervously as if she already knew what he was going to say.

"My feelings for Ran won't change, not for awhile. They are too deep." He turned away from her dejected expression and smiled weakly, staring at a large group of speakers. "I tried to like you that deeply Aya; I tried. And you believed in my feelings with good faith. I'm sorry to say there was nothing faithful about my feelings."

This time, he turned to her and locked with her gaze. "You want honesty, and I'll give it to you. Honestly, Aya, I went out with you because of Ran's urging. You really liked me, and it was obvious, and Ran only wanted to see her friend happy." Aya's face turned paler, and her hands covered her mouth, holding back the cries. "And I wanted to see Ran happy."

"Then, everything you did for me… you did for Ran?" Aya asked weakly. Her legs wobbled, and Rei wondered if she'd faint or dash for the door.

"Subconsciously, yes, but it doesn't mean I didn't enjoy your friendship and the time we spent together." He looked away, feeling dirty that he had hurt Aya so much. "It just didn't work out."

Aya inhaled an awkward draught of breath, and spoke as she exhaled. "So… what do we do? Does this mean we're… over?"

Rei gave her a pitying look, a look she clearly disliked by the clench of her jaw. "Aya, you know we are."

Aya swallowed uncomfortably and nodded her head again. Her face was wet from constant tears. She looked away from his rueful gaze and fiddled with her hands. She moved toward the stairs of the basement.

"So it's really over…"

"Aya, I had to be honest with you… I couldn't keep – We couldn't keep going like this. It wasn't fair to you."

"You're right of course," she replied in a raspy voice. And she was silent for a moment, and Rei let her have a moment of peace.

"Well, I should go. I've overstayed my welcome, Otohata-kun."

"Aya…" Rei tried to sooth, but Aya's emotions were already far gone. She loved him so much and so unconditionally, and now she was heartbroken. He'd hurt her more than he could understand. He wished he could take the pain away and experience it himself. But he couldn't. He just couldn't feel that deeply. He sighed. "Let me walk you to the door."

She nodded, and slowly they climbed the stairs. He watched her from behind, and he felt sick to his stomach for what he had done to her.

'I had to. To keep seeing her when I couldn't settle was only causing her pain and wasting her time. If she's going to hurt now, at least she knows it won't last long,' he mused, and he looked up and they were standing at the front doorway.

Aya averted her eyes from him, but tried to put on a strong yet polite smile.

"Otohata-kun, I know we have mutual friends." Aya spoke just above a whisper. "But I'm going to need some time away from you. I hope you understand."

"I do. You needn't worry about that. I'll be busy with the video shoot." Aya nodded, and suddenly, something dawned on him. "There's something else you should know, Aya, and I'd rather you hear it from me than someone else."

Aya looked up momentarily, her eyes dull and somber. Obviously, what he was going to say couldn't possibly affect her any worse than breaking up.

"Yumiko recruited Ran to be in her Para-Para video as a dancer." Rei saw Aya's eyes well up again. "We're going to be working together for a couple of weeks."

Aya nodded slowly and bit her lip. "I see." She turned slowly around, and she stepped lightly down his stairs and out his front gate. Rei watched her, feeling ten times worse as he watched her take one step after another.

When Aya stopped at the front gate, Rei was mildly surprised when she turned around. She met his eyes with her lifeless gaze, and her brow furrowed slightly in disdain.

"Even if you have these deep feelings for Ran, Rei, it's not going to matter." Rei gapped slightly at her boldness. Aya was truly hurt, and this was her way of stinging him back. She lifted her nose to him and said resolutely, "Ran told me she's not interested in you like that, and she would never betray her friends. So… I'm sorry for you're feelings because things aren't going to change."

Aya stared at him hard, her jaw quivering from both anxiety and anger. Rei nodded; his lips thin and emotion devoid from his face.

"I understand," he responded, and Aya walked away.

Yet the darkness in his eyes proved Aya's words had indeed affected him.

To be continued...


	8. Storm Damage

"Tatsukichi!" Ran yelled, waving at her boyfriend as she neared him on the streets of Shibuya. Jubilantly, Tatsukichi came bounding toward her in joy, arms stretched out ready for a big hug. She danced around him, eluding his embrace and immediately whining for some food. "Buy me something, please? I'm starving!"

"Ran-chan! You're so cruel," he said, as he pathetically hugged the air. Ran snapped her fingers at him.

"Uh-uh, no touchy until I get some food!" Ran demanded. She rubbed her belly. "I need my energy if I'm going to be working soon."

"Working?" Tatsukichi's eyes lit up. "Did my Ran-chan get a job?"

Ran laughed evilly, puffing out her chest proudly. "I did! Now stop yourself for a moment, Tatsukichi," she said, striking a pose. "I'm going be Para-Para dancing in a video for the amazing pop idol, Rinjou-Y!"

"Wow!" Tatsukichi exclaimed, lifting his arms in the air for celebration. "My Ran-chan's going to be a star!" Ran laughed again, her ego rising. Tatsukichi proceeded to dance around her, screaming Ran's praise wildly to everyone on the street's.

"Ohohoho!" Ran crowed, and Tatsukichi continued to fawn over her.

"Ah, my Ran-chan is so popular, even the idols want her to dance for them," he cooed, and somewhere in the middle of Tatsukichi's fawning Ran got her hands on a soda. She guzzled the drink down noisily and smacked her lips in satisfaction. "Well, I am pretty popular," she responded with a breathy sigh. "However, if it wasn't for Rei I probably would have never met Yumiko-chan." Her last words were intoned like a purr as she referred to Rinjou-Y so formally.

Yet when Ran mentioned Otohata, Tatsukichi's face fell immediately, and she looked at him curiously, seeing pain swelling in his eyes.

"Oto-chi got you the job? Are you going to work with him?" Tatsukichi asked softly. 'Since when did she start calling him Rei?' he thought suspiciously.

Ran nodded, and she furrowed her brow. "What's with that look, Tatsukichi?" Ran clenched her jaw. Seeing Tatsukichi's miserable expression made her stomach retch. Was he gearing for another argument? The last one about her hanging onto Otohata's bag still got on her nerves when she thought about it. 'He's not going to lay into me about Otohata again, is he?' She had enough trouble with Aya. For the past two days, Aya still hadn't returned her phone calls.

"Ran-chan," he intoned with a deep, serious voice. "Is Oto-chi hitting on you again by getting you in with his music crowd?"

Ran gaped at him, and she gritted her teeth. "What? No! Why the heck would you think that, bonehead?" She bopped him on the head with an angry open fist. "For your information, Rinjou-Y picked me out at the last party when we went to the Para-Para club. She wants local dancers and asked Otohata if he knew me. That's all! Why are you always so suspicious of him?" She huffed, and then she sucked loudly on her drink. Ran met Tatsukichi's worried gaze, and she glared at him.

"Ran-chan, we all know that Oto-chi likes you. He hasn't denied it, and he isn't trying to cover it up." Tatsukichi paused, and Ran saw his eyes narrow at her. "You don't seem to be minding the attention yourself."

Ran stepped back, aghast at Tatsukichi's boldness. Her last nerve was about to fry. Why was everyone always worried about her giving into Otohata's attractions? It didn't make sense. It was like no one trusted her, yet she still did her best to act exactly the same everyday. She didn't change! Her feelings didn't change! And to hell with Otohata's feelings. She had made that perfectly clear to him, and she assumed they resolved to be nothing more than friends.

Yet, Otohata's little crush was causing the exact same dissension in her friends in which she feared. Now, Tatsukichi was basically accusing her of giving into Otohata's whims.

And to accuse an innocent gal, that pissed her off.

Ran balled her one fist at her side, and the can in her other hand crackled from the pressure. Tatsukichi actually stood his ground. He straightened his back, and leveled his gaze with hers.

"Ran-chan, I don't think you should work with Rinjou-Y on her pop video."

Ran's eyes widened, and her mouth opened at his audacity. Her face reddened, and she started to move toward him. Tatsukichi stood rigid like a statue, biting his lip and weathering her rage.

"What did you say to me?" Ran's voice was low - dangerous. Her eyes spiked with fury.

"Ran-chan, you're going to be working with Rinjou-Y on her video, and you're going to be working with Oto-chi. As your boyfriend, I can't let you do that. So, you have to make a choice."

Ran crushed the can she was holding and liquid spewed out, trailing down her hand. She whipped the can at his feet, and his eyes flinched. "Why should I give up my dream of working with a pop idol just because you can't trust me?"

"Ran-chan, I do trust you, but -"

"Liar! What kind of boyfriend makes his girlfriend give up her dreams? I'm sick of your jealousy. For the hundredth time I do not like Otohata. I like you! Why can't anyone see that?" Her voice bellowed, yet her words were laced with desperation.

Tatsukichi looked at her sympathetically, and he noticed tears brimming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ran-chan. You either choose to work with Oto-chi, or I'm going back to Machida." Tatsukichi's muscles tensed in his face, and he had doubts to whether or not he was making the right decision. Still, something needed to be done about Ran's loyalty. She'd only kissed him once, and she hardly made any indications of affection toward him. And worst of all, whenever she saw Otohata, she bounced toward him happily, hanging on him and always - always thinking about him first. He was starting to wonder if all those times she was just doing it for Aya's sake or her own underlying self-interest. Ran needed to be honest with herself. Did she really like Tatsukichi? And could she give up Otohata's friendship? Working with Otohata at Rinjou-Y's studio seemed like a very bad omen. He was worried, and Tatsukichi believed it was only a matter of time when those obvious affections Ran hid deep inside came to the surface after working so close to Otohata.

Ran continued to glare at him, searching his expression for a weak point. But Tatsukichi would not break. He felt strongly about this. So he added, "And I'll go back for good."

Ran's mouth dropped, and her face softened just slightly. "Go back?" Tatsukichi was beginning to find hope in her changing expression. Yet, instead of pleading with him to stay, her mood changed for the worse. She bared her teeth at him and whacked him on the head again. Tears fell freely as her anger flowed. "You jerk! You tell me I have to choose between you and working for Rinjou-Y? Are you crazy?"

"But Oto-chi-"

"This is not about him! This about me and Para-Para dancing - professionally. People are always telling me I should be a cop, but I like being a gal, and being a pop idol is the gal status I'm striving for! If I gave up this opportunity, who's to say this isn't what I want to do with my life? You? You think I shouldn't do this?" Ran snapped at him accusingly.

"Of course not Ran-chan. I believe you can do anything you set your mind to. Another opportunity will come - without Oto-chi," he said, his eyes darkening. His response only seemed to upset her more.

"This isn't about him!"

"It is to me!" Tatsukichi lashed at her, his unexpected tone causing her silence. Suddenly, he sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Then, his confession rolled out of him. "I'm scared - so scared of losing you to him. I just know it will happen. I can feel it Ran, just by the way you both look at each other every day."

"But I don't-"

"Please! Let me speak. You don't see it, of course. And we're not intimate Ran. You kissed me once on the cheek, but that was it. You barely show me any affection. It's not like I don't think you can. I want to go deeper with you, at your pace of course. But I can't seem to reach you at all when Oto-chi is around." He paused, and Ran took her opportunity to speak.

Her tone softened, and she watched her boyfriend with concern. "Tatsukichi…"

"And you're right. I am jealous of Oto-chi. You might not see it, but you light up when you're around him. And when he helps you fight crime or talks you straight when you're going off, you two become like pieces of a puzzle. And you value his opinion of you, and I can tell that it really annoys you when he doesn't play into your whims – but he really gets you, and everyone can see that." He sighed dejectedly. "I wish we could be like that Ran-chan, but we're not."

"But…I don't understand any of this." Her anger flared again, tainting the light moment. "I haven't done anything but be myself!"

Tatsukichi's lip curled into a sad smile. He gazed at her with understanding. "And that's exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't change, we can't change Ran-chan."

"What are you talking about, stupe?" She crossed her arms and huffed, looking away from his piercing gaze.

"Ran-chan, you want everyone to be friends just like we are and always have been in high school. But we can't be like that anymore. We're growing up."

"You sound like Nii or Mami-Rin. Feh! What's wrong with wanting our friendships to be the same after high school? Why do they have to change? It sucks if we all get mad about this and don't move on."

"But that's just it, Ran-chan. You can't move on. Not until you face your feelings about Oto-chi," Tatsukichi pleaded.

"But I have!" Ran snapped.

Tatsukichi looked at her, and Ran knew he didn't believe her. He wasn't going to budge from his feelings. Did he really think she needed to change? That she really did have underlying feelings for Otohata? It was crazy!

Ran grunted, looking away again. "Are you still going to go back to Machida if I take this job?"

Tatsukichi nodded, and Ran kicked a rock on the ground in annoyance.

"You're making a big mistake, Tatsukichi. I think you're being an idiot," Ran said, and she turned to him, peering straight into his eyes. He was taken aback by the venom rising in her voice. "You go back to Machida, we're done. I don't need a boyfriend that can't trust me or one that wants to stop me from doing what I want to do."

"I'm going then, Ran-chan," he said, and he lifted his hand up, tracing his thumb down her clenched jaw. Her lip began to tremble as he released the touch. The moment she blinked, Tatsukichi was gone, walking down the bustling streets of Shibuya. Ran watched him go in defeat, tears welling in her eyes.

As soon as he was out of her sight, Ran quickly swung around and kicked a nearby parking meter in anger, lashing out a warrior's cry.

"Stupid Tatsukichi! With your stupid monkey face!" She grunted as she continued to kick the parking meter with all her force, causing a mangled dent. She was about to muster the strength to rip it out of the ground and fling it, but someone held her back.

"Whoa! Calm down, Ran-chan!" And strong arms pulled her back. She spun around, ready to lash out at the person who dared to interrupt her. When she looked up, Nii-chan and Mami-Rin were staring at her in surprise.

"What do you think you're doing? You're causing a scene!" Mami-Rain chided her.

"I don't care! I'm pissed!" Ran seethed, giving the innocent parking meter one final kick. The dented thing clanged mournfully in response.

"What the heck happened?" Nii said, releasing her. Ran stood up, glared at the parking meter and crossed her arms.

"Tatsukichi made a very stupid decision and now he's on his way back to Machida." She huffed. "Fine. Whatever. He can't trust me anyway."

"Hold on! He doesn't trust you?" Nii asked, confused. Mami-Rin harrumphed beside him.

"I always knew he was no good," she added, and Yuya put up a hand to ward off any more of her quips. He addressed Ran sympathetically.

"Why doesn't he trust you, Ran? You've never done anything unfaithful… to anybody," Yuya said, stroking his chin in contemplation. It just seemed like such an odd occurrence that Tatsukichi would act this way.

"He told me I shouldn't take the job with Rinjou-Y." Ran looked up at them, and they both appeared to be bewildered. "I told you about it, right?"

"Yes, yes," said Mami, waving her hand. "You called us all to brag about it. So what's the big deal about you working for a pop idol? Is he scared you'll find a better boyfriend with all those GL dancers around?"

"No, that's not it," Yuya said, his voice low and understanding. He sighed. "Tatsukichi was worried about you working with Rei, wasn't he?"

Ran's eyes peered at him harshly. She bit her lip. "Yep. He doesn't trust me. He thinks I have feelings for Oto-chi that I'm not expressing yet."

Yuya sighed, but Mami-Rin looked at her nails as if she were bored. She said, "Well, you do. Everyone knows it."

"Mami!" Yuya yelled at her, and Ran gritted her teeth at Mami, still angry and ready to strike at anyone or anything that pissed her off more. Yuya put up his hands in surrender to calm Ran down before she started a scene with Mami.

"Ran, calm down. What Mami was trying to say is…"

Suddenly, Mami stepped forward and pushed Yuya aside. She put her fists on her hips and met Ran challengingly.

"Listen here. Don't be a dope. We all see you have feelings for Otohata. Even monkey-boy wasn't that stupid. But don't take your frustrations out on us. For a long time your friends have been silent and have played oblivious that they don't see what goes on between you and Otohata, but I'm not like them, and I've known you even less.

"Still, I wouldn't sit by while people were hurting by obvious truths that were just being kept silent. You've been pushing Otohota on Aya ever since she made googily eyes at him, but you never thought for once that maybe he didn't see her like that. But he pursued her because he couldn't have you, and I'm sure he had other reasons too. So… until you own up to your feelings, Kotobuki, you're just going to just keep hurting people like Aya and monkey-face. Do you understand me?"

Ran's fists were shaking, and she was looking down at the ground. Yuya saw tears stream down her face, and she looked like she was ready to explode.

Her voice crackled, and all she could say was, "You're wrong, Mami-Rin. Wrong."

"Oh?" Mami-Rin refused to let her guard down, and her voice was edgier than before. If anyone could talk some sense into Ran, it was Mami.

"Yeah," Ran said, and suddenly her shoulders relaxed and she stood up. She eyed both of them angrily. "Everyone is wrong. I don't have feelings for Oto-chi. You're all making a huge mistake."

"Ran…" Yuya held his hand out to her, but Ran started to march away.

"Leave me alone!" She began stomping off, kicking rocks, garbage cans, and anything in her way. Yuya and Mami-Rin looked on as Ran took off, and they both knew she was angry, yet more than anything she was hurting inside. She obviously didn't want to show weakness in front of her friends, or even concede that they were right.

So instead, she stormed home.

"So does this mean Ran and monkey-boy are over with?" Mami-Rin asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah," Yuya confirmed. "It's look like he's actually gone this time. Ran's really mad. I've never seen her this hurt before."

"So she really cared about him?" Mami asked incredulously.

"Of course," Yuya answered. He took Mami's hand and smiled. "When Ran cares about someone, she really cares – a lot. It's just how she is."

"Phoo… whatever!" Mami said. But Yuya could see some compassion in Mami's eyes; she really did consider Ran a friend and she played the role of giving Ran the tough love she deserved.

Mami squeezed Yuya's hand and raised one eyebrow. With a Cheshire smile she said, "So, you think Otohata would like to know that Ran is single again?"

Yuya laughed. "Yeah, I think he would." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He shook his head, the thoughts of the day tumbling around his skull. "Man, my head really hurts." He dialed Rei's number, but was only able to leave a message.

"He's not there, but he'll find out," Yuya said, closing his flip phone. He put his arm around Mami and led her down the streets of Shibuya.

"Ready for some ice cream?" She giggled playfully.

"After all of that drama, I'm going to need at least four scoops."

"Well, you are buying," Mami cooed at his side.

Yuya sighed.

Work had been exhausting and rough, and when Rei finally settled down in his empty home, he was relieved. The softness of his bed welcomed him, and he was fully tempted to ignore the continuous beeping from his cell phone.

Sighing, he gave into temptation and looked at the missed call from Yuya.

He'd been annoyed with people all day, so he really wasn't sure if he wanted Yuya's voice to be the last one he heard before going to bed.

However, he hadn't heard from Yuya in awhile, and while his best friend became an extension of the power house known of Mami Honda, he felt slightly grateful Yuya still had time to call him.

As Yuya's voice filtered from the message into his ear, Rei noticed that his friend sounded more excited than usual.

And when the message was complete, Rei's eyes widened and his heart began to swell in his chest. He licked his lips, and the recent vivid dreams he'd been having traced over his brain, haunting him in full force.

He smiled, and his body filled up with hope.

To Be Continued…


	9. An Angry Divide

During the two weeks of the video shoot, Rei felt like he was working in a daze. He concentrated on his tasks, and he worked diligently to provide Rinjou-Y with the finest beats possible. He worked with her crew, and he even became chummy with her boyfriend, Makoto Tadashi, who was also her producer. Rei guessed that Yumiko must have explained to Makoto about his delicate situation with Ran because he never brought it up, and he carefully tried to keep Rei away from the dancers. Rei was pleased, mainly because he could watch the dancers from the sound booth but didn't have to interact with them personally.

Only during lunch and studio breaks did Rei even have the slightest opportunity to speak with Ran. Most of the time, Ran was really cold to him, and her answers were short. He figured she was still angry about Tatsukichi and Aya, who both hadn't spoken to her since the day he offered her the job, or so he assumed.

Rei inwardly scoffed. He hardly thought he should be blamed. His breakup with Aya really wasn't Ran's concern, and it wasn't his fault that Tatsukichi had given her such a cruel ultimatum.

Ran was mad anyway, and if she needed to blame him, Rei let her. He decided to let her initiate any conversation first, and he made no attempt to be nice to her if she was giving him the cold shoulder anyway.

"Stupid drama," he muttered under his breath, and as he threw away his paper cup during his break, he was glad this was the last day of production.

On his way to the safe haven into the sound booth, Rei was stopped by Makoto, who had a questionable grin on his face. Rei wouldn't have minded the attention from the producer if a certain girl hadn't walked by.

"So are you taking anyone to the party tonight, Rei?" he asked, a question that piqued Ran's interest as she slowed her step walking by them. She shot Rei a look, obviously interested in his response as well.

"I don't think I'm taking anyone," Rei said, miffed that Ran was listening to their conversation. He turned his gaze from Tadashi and looked straight in her eyes. A smirk crept on over his lips. "I was thinking about taking my friend Aya."

Just as he had predicted, his answer got the worst reaction out of Ran, who narrowed her eyes at him and stormed over.

"Are you crazy? After all you've put her through?" She slammed her fists on her hips, and Makoto looked at her with surprise.

"Ran-chan!" Makoto called, but his presence was soon ignored by both of them as Rei looked down at her with indifference.

"It's none of your business, Kotobuki. So go back to avoiding me like a good girl and get back to work." He saw her face redden with anger, and he took that moment to leave her. He turned to go back to the sound booth, but she pulled him back by his arm.

She ignored the 'good girl' comment and went into reaming him about Aya. Like always, Ran had put her friends before herself.

"You better not go back to calling Aya and getting her hopes up," she seethed at him, and he tried to feign indifference as his temper rose from her onslaught. He winced when she squeezed his arm hard, and she made sure he was looking into her eyes. "You don't know how hard it was to get her to talk to me again after the stunt you pulled. It was bad enough Tatsukichi left me, and I was close to losing Aya too."

"I don't know why she took it out on you. It was our problem, not yours," he shot back at her, pulling his arm away from her grip.

"But I was part of the problem! I don't know how you can't see that, but I can!" Ran shouted. People were looking at them, and Rei was becoming exasperated and embarrassed.

He grabbed Ran's arm and pulled her with him into the sound booth. She protested, but when he drew the blinds, he hoped that people wouldn't be interested in their skirmish anymore if they couldn't see or hear anything. He turned his attention to Ran.

"Are you admitting something, Ran? What sort of problem were you to us exactly?" Rei challenged.

"Ha! You're one to say that to me. I'm not the one who should admit anything. I'm an innocent bystander! Yet, I get dragged into your couple's fight, and I lose my own boyfriend because of it! Are you happy about that? Huh?" She crossed her arms and grunted.

He stood back and leaned against the wall. He looked away and sighed heavily. "I'm not happy about hurting Aya, and I certainly didn't intend for you guys to break up."

Ran harrumphed, sticking her finger in her ear idly. "I wish I could believe you."

"Don't waste your time then," Rei said, feeling honestly incensed. Not only was he embarrassed, but also an outburst like that with Ran was definitely something he wanted to avoid. He turned to the doorknob, intent to shoo her out and go back to work, putting this unsavory and tired argument behind them.

Ran put her hand over the doorknob, and Rei looked at her with surprise. Anger continued to storm in her eyes. "I'm not finished." She poked a faux nail at his chest. "It's time we settled this. I'm going to warn you, as Aya's friend, leave her alone. Don't call her, don't even think about her – you guys are done, and yes, I'm interfering." She paused, looking away. He saw tears ebb on the sides of her angry eyes. "I've seen her cry a lot before, but what I saw when she finally talked to me, I never saw her in so much pain." She snapped her attention back to him. "You did that to her, and even though you're my friend too, I'm seriously pissed at you, Otohata."

Rei froze, taken aback by her rage. Guilt seeped into his insides, and he couldn't shake the sadness he felt for Aya's pain. Ran was obviously the better friend here, and though he knew the break with Aya would have been messy regardless, having Ran say it to him like that stung more than ever.

"I'm sorry. I can't say anything to appease you about Aya. Breakups are never easy, and I knew it wouldn't be." He looked at her seriously, and for some reason, he felt it was the perfect moment to slightly open up to her. She deserved at least that; if they continued to argue and dwell on things, the tension between them would only get worse. "I wish you could understand how I felt about Aya, and that I knew it wasn't right. I'd ask for your forgiveness on her behalf, but I'm afraid right now that's asking too much."

She charged at him. "Then why make a statement back there to Tadashi that you were even considering her?"

Rei sighed, crossing his arms. "I wasn't serious. I just wanted to get a reaction out of you." His eyes met hers again, and he tried to see past the anger. He hoped his truthfulness would reach her in some way. "You've been avoiding me, and I've been avoiding you, and I'm tired of it. I just wanted to…"

"Whatever," she said, waving a hand. The redness of her anger had dulled to a rosy pink over her cheeks. "I'm going back to work. See you at the party tonight."

"So you're going?" Rei asked, surprised after all that arguing she still wanted to sit through a social event with him. The tension was still thick, and he feared that anything could happen tonight. Another argument, perhaps? Or worse.

Ran turned around, and her anger was fading. A confident smirk appeared on her lips. "Of course I'm going! I don't care about some stupid argument! I'm going to enjoy my first party with Rinjou-Y and celebrate my first of many pop videos. She lifted her chin and met his eyes challengingly. "I don't care whether you're there or not. I'm going to have fun!"

Rei smiled at her despite himself. His smile must have taken her off-guard because she froze and looked at him curiously before huffing and quickly retreating out the door.

Rei stared at the spot where she was, and he began to dread the party tonight, even though in the back of his mind he had some hope for it. He chided himself for being delusional, but the chance to be with Ran around people who were practically strangers held interesting possibilities for him.

He sighed and flipped up the blinds, ignoring the inquiring eyes outside his booth. He immediately went back to work, shaking off his personal feelings and trying to do his best on the last day.

The party would be there for him, and after having such a miserable time lately with Ran, Aya, and all that other craziness, he felt he should be allowed some fun.

He hated to admit that Ran Kotobuki was right. A once in a lifetime party with Rinjou Yumiko was reason enough to shelf away the tension for now.

*

He was ready to take back his earlier thoughts about the party when the shoot finally ended. Immediately after he locked up his booth and retrieved his equipment, Ran jumped on him, reminding him to steer clear of Aya before the party.

When he was ready to forgive her for the embarrassing outburst earlier, her unfair nagging had erased any guilt, and he felt his temper slipping. Finally his exasperation got the better of him.

"I thought we were done with this conversation," he intoned nastily at her. If Ran wasn't already set off for whatever reason, she was much angrier now that he was biting back.

"No! We will never be done until I get my friends back and everything goes back to the way it was!" She threw up her arms in the air in frustration.

"You're asking too much, Kotobuki," Rei said, turning toward the bus stop. Ran pulled him back again, and before she could holler anymore, he stripped his arm away from her grip. He leaned in closer to her face and stared into her eyes. "Just give it up, Ran. We're graduating high school soon; we're growing up, so you're foolish to think we'll always be the same."

Ran's anger subsided momentarily. "But why can't we?" Her voice was ebbing sadness. Still, Rei remained stern with her.

"It doesn't work that way," he finally said, and Ran bit her lip, glaring at him. He didn't know what she was expecting, but he couldn't give her what she was asking. They would never be the same, and deep inside he was sure she knew that as well. "Look, Kotobuki. I don't know why it always fell upon me and Aya working, but we can't be the reason you lose your friends. Blame me, sure, but never blame Aya or Tatsukichi."

His words came out colder than he wanted to, but Ran was silent, obviously affected by their meaning.

"When this photo shoot is over with, you never have to deal with me again. You know that. I'll be gone, and you'll be able to make amends with everyone without me interfering."

"But I don't want that either!" she demanded, and Rei was taken aback. Ran seemed to be shocked by her own words too.

Rei put his hands in his pockets, trying not to read more into her words than he should. It was silly, he thought. There was no way that was the prelude to a confession from Ran Kotobuki.

Though, he wanted it to be.

He sighed heavily. "I think it'd be best if I don't go to this party tonight. Have your fun; I won't spoil it for you. Since I'm touring with Yumiko this summer anyway, I'll have plenty of parties to go to that'll make up for it."

He turned to leave, but he was pulled back again. His jaw dropped, and immediately he thought it was Ran.

"You're coming to this party tonight, Rei-chan!" a stern voice demanded.

"Yumiko-chan!" Rei turned and met Yumiko's stormy eyes. They were wet, filling with tears. He'd never seen the starlet look so angry before. She hooked her arm with his and hooked her other arm with Ran's. "You're both going and that's final!"

"But Yumiko-chan, you know how I feel…" He stopped himself, looking at Ran. He almost blurted it out, but Ran didn't seem to suspect. Rei grimaced.

"I don't care, Rei-chan. You and Ran need to make up," she said, looking at Ran. Ran's expression was perturbed as she turned away from Rei's gaze.

"I don't think we're ready to make up just yet, Yumiko-chan," Rei said in a smooth voice. He stared at Ran, who still refused to look at him. "I want her to have fun. I'll make the next party."

Ran huffed audibly. Yumiko pouted.

Rei watched the starlet's limo pull up to the curb, and then he felt a hard tug. "We'll take about it in the limo." Yumiko shot him a scary look. "I'm not finished discussing it."

"But Yumiko-chan!" Rei protested.

"Hey!" Ran called out, and she was dragged into the limo too.

Yumiko giggled loudly as she had clearly won this argument. Ran and Rei looked at each other dumbfounded as Yumiko shoved them side by side into the limo with her, so she could watch them from the other side of their seats.

She smirked like a cat, turning to them both. "Now who wants to have a pre-party?" She handed Rei a glass and then one to Ran too, who automatically took them.

She poured them drinks of sparkling champagne and then took a sip, smacking her lips together loudly that was reminiscent of Ran. Rei raised an eyebrow, and she gave both Ran and Rei a devilish look. Sighing lightly, she settled comfortably into the limo seat.

"Now, what's the problem? Tell Yumiko-chan all about it."

Rei and Ran looked at each other uncomfortably. It appeared as though they were going to get through this whether they wanted to or not.

And who could say no to pop idol Rinjou Yumiko?

*

Ran glared at Rei from her spot inside the limo as Yumiko poured a refill of champagne into her glass. Rei looked away from her, and when Yumiko was done, Ran took a big gulp of it, coughing slightly, but enjoying the tart taste. She took another sip, still glaring at a placid Rei, who continued to ignore her.

Then Ran took another sip. And another. And with every sip she took, she started to feel less and less angry at Rei. And the more that Yumiko rambled on about the importance of their friendship, the more she felt perplexed toward him.

TBC...


	10. Party of Two

The moment Rei and Ran were released from Yumiko's limo, they both glared at each other before following Yumiko into the club.

For a couple hours before the party, Yumiko had hijacked them and had taken them to several places to get ready. She took them to stores and bought them clothes, and while she bought clothes for herself as well, she ordered several of her personal stylists to do their hair and make up. Ran had just enough champagne in her to let everything happen, soaking in the petting and adoration she received from random strangers. She cooed happily like a child, and Yumiko seemed pleased.

Rei, on the other hand, was his usual self, trying very hard not to let the alcohol get to him, keeping a permanent mask on his face as the events buzzed around him.

More than anything, he tried to not get entranced by how happy Ran was, and instead, he made himself be grumpy so he wouldn't enjoy her. He always secretly enjoyed her way, but tonight he wouldn't allow himself to. He was supposed to be mad at her because she wouldn't let him off the hook about Aya.

And it pained him more than anything to make her angry at him, so instead, he sulked.

"Rei-chan, you'd look so much better if you just smiled," Yumiko said, coming next to him as he slumped in the salon chair, already made up for the party. He drew his gaze away from the floor and met her eyes.

"You don't have to do this, you know," he said, and Yumiko's bright expression soon dulled. Rei glanced over at Ran, who sighed as she enjoyed her facial. "I've done something to her that I'm afraid she won't forgive me for."

Yumiko frowned. "Rei-chan…"

"I hurt one of her closest friends. To her I look like dirt," he said. He began to get up from his chair, and he picked up his coat. "I can't go to that party tonight, Yumiko-chan. It doesn't feel right." It hurts too much, he thought to himself.

Yumiko pulled on his arm. "Please don't say that, Rei-chan." He met Yumiko's face again, full of confidence. He wished he had her optimism. "Just go, if not for Ran-chan, but for me."

Rei looked dumbfounded. "But Yumiko-chan, I'll attend many of your wrap parties when I tour with you."

"Well, that's true." Yumiko laughed and gave him a sly grin. "But I really think if you don't go tonight, you'll regret it."

So, despite his better judgment, he continued on with the party. Yumiko's words had rewound in Rei's brain for some time until the party started, and while trying very hard to avert his attention from Ran, Yumiko's party was turning out to be just as he expected.

Inside, Rei loathed being here; he hated having to be around people when he was so angry and hurt and confused about Aya and Ran. On the outside, Rei was more than willing to converse or dance with anyone who would approach him, and he kept his gentlemanly demeanor up with the dancers and staff he had worked with during the video shoot. Many of them already knew him, and he was sure Yumiko had spread around a pity secret on his behalf. Many of the girls were almost too obnoxiously kind to him.

"Hey, Rei-kun, come dance with me," said one of Yumiko's dancers, with fake orange tanned skin that horrified him. He didn't think it could get any worse until she pulled him onto the dance floor. He grimaced through one annoying Para Para beat with her, and then politely excused himself as he made a beeline to the punch table.

Upon hovering over the bowl to get a drink, he immediately noticed that the party punch was spiked.

"Don't drink too much of that, Otohata," slurred Ran behind him. He put down the ladle in the punch bowl and turned to meet her. Her eyes were already drooping, and he'd guess that she had already tried the punch herself.

She staggered over to him, and Rei stiffened when he felt her arm brush against his shoulder. Then, she clapped him on the back. "I, for one, will have some more."

"Kotobuki, don't you think you've had enough?" He gently took the drink from her hand, and she slowly looked up and glared at him.

"Hey, that's mine!" But no matter how inebriated she was, Ran still had the fire in her voice.

Rei had a quick thought and suddenly made a defying move. He chugged the remainder of Ran's drink. She let out a squeal in outrage after watching him, and Rei made a bitter face.

"Gees, that is spiked, and badly." Regardless, he filled up Ran's glass and continued drinking. In a strange way, he rather enjoyed drinking out of her used glass, his lips pressing where hers once did. Ran, however, was too distracted to notice such a small thing.

She turned to say something to him, and her mouth shut after he placed a soft hand on the top of her head. "I'm cutting you off for the night."

"What! You can't do that! You're not my dad, stupid!" Ran protested. Rei lightly grabbed her arm and directed her to an empty table and stools. Thankfully, she was too busy shooting her mouth off at him to physically protest his direction. She plopped down in the empty seat while he sat next to her.

"Kotobuki, do you really want to go home to your family full of police officers this drunk? You're still in high school, after all. If they catch you, you may never get to work a job like this again."

She huffed at him. "When did you suddenly become my conscience?" She looked away from his penetrating eyes and stared at the wet ring from a glass on the table. She pouted.

Rei sighed heavily. "I'm not trying to be. I know you already have a conscience, Kotobuki, you just fail to use it sometimes."

"Damn, you're rude," she whined, slamming her hands on the table. Rei smirked at her as he observed her drunken flushed face and mean attitude. She caught his stare, and threw him a nasty look.

"Why do you get to drink when I don't?" Ran accused. Rei chuckled at her. He didn't think he was too drunk, yet he was starting to feel the strong effects. He took another swig of his drink.

He looked at Ran pointedly. "I can drink because my parents are out of town. Remember? So who cares if I get smashed and end up passing out on a bar stool? No one will come looking for me."

He took another drink, and he noticed Ran had stopped her whining to stare at him in silence. He met her expression and noticed her concern.

"That sounds so lonely… and boring." She tacked on that last part just to sound antagonistic. To her, Rei thought that showing him her soft side had probably felt unnatural.

"I make no complaints," Rei said, and after finishing his drink, a shot lady put too greenish colored shots in front of them. Swiftly, he took Ran's and drank them both before she could even make a peep.

"I never knew you were like this," Ran huffed again. "You're so clean cut all of the time. The Rei Otohata I know would scoff at this kind of stuff."

"Well, maybe you don't really know Rei Otohata," he replied sharply. He looked away and could still feel her eyes on him. "Anyway, I don't want to be here tonight, so this helps…I guess." He sighed and slammed the shot glass down. "It doesn't matter."

Ran said nothing, and Rei turned to her with a weak smile. "Why don't you go out and dance. You'll sweat the alcohol out."

"What about you?" Ran said. For a moment, Rei thought she really cared. He shook his head.

"I'm leaving. I'm going to walk home and do some thinking. You go have fun," he said with tones of defeat, but he was trying very hard to be noble about this. Ran looked at him skeptically.

"Don't you dare skip out on my party, Rei-chan!" said a voice behind him. Rei and Ran both turned around to see Yumiko glaring at them, her fists on her hips.

"Yumiko-chan," Rei said, surprised and a little disappointed she had caught him before he could make a run for it.

Yumiko stared at him furiously, and she pulled at his arm. "If you won't dance with anyone else here, at least dance with Ran-chan."

"But…" Rei said. Ran was watching them both with awe.

"You guys are such mopes. You're making my party look like a bore. I have music critics here, you know. At least you could do is fake that you're having fun," Yumiko chided.

"Hey, I was just…Look, Kotobuki is drunk." Rei tried to explain, but Yumiko would have none of it. She pulled at Ran's arm too, who dutifully followed the instructions of her idol.

Yumiko, who was stronger than she looked, marched the two of them out to the dance floor and slapped them together. She signaled to the DJ, who then started playing a slow, hypnotic tune.

Things only got worse when the DJ announced that the dance was for couples. Rei groaned, but Ran was still bewildered, hanging onto him. Her eyes blinked several times in surprise.

She did not budge however. Rei hoped she wasn't going to get sick.

He groaned when a very large ache throbbed in his temple.

"There!" Yumiko said proudly as their bodies started swaying automatically to the music. "Perfect," the pop singer announced. Rei glowered at her.

"You know what would make this perfect?" Rei asked sarcastically. He didn't mean to get short with Yumiko, but forcing him and Ran onto the dance floor together was dirty and low, especially how he was feeling about the girl tonight.

"Yes?" Yumiko asked, and not intimidated in the least by his tone.

"A drink." Rei snorted, to which Yumiko nodded, snapped her fingers, and a drink was quickly handed to Rei. He removed one of his hands from Ran's waist to retrieve it. He gave Yumiko a half-grimace of a smile. "Thanks."

Yumiko left quickly when her work was finally done. Rei couldn't help but finish off his new drink quickly. Ran's breathing against his neck was distracting, as was her warm body swaying against his.

He was so flustered and excited by her closeness that he wanted to scream – and the alcohol would spin him out of control if he didn't contain himself.

"Kotobuki," he whispered. He heard a low 'what' and then more heavy breathing. He wasn't even sure if she was paying attention to him.

"You don't have to do this. I know you hate me right now," Rei said, trying to release from her. Suddenly, he felt very fuzzy and he was scared that if he let her go, he'd lose his balance and fall over. He gripped her arms and pulled her close, his headache only getting worse. The background around them became a blur.

"I don't hate you," she said, her voice low, but she didn't seem like herself. They continued to sway, but the music had changed.

"Kotobuki…." His hand fell to her hips. He tried desperately to keep the touch platonic, but his mind didn't want to stop there. "I need to…"

Suddenly, she shifted to meet his face, and in her eyes, she appeared more in control. She was quiet for some reason, and he wondered if she was starting to sober up. She gave him a perplexed look.

"I'm sad, Otohata. When I found out that you liked me, everything changed. Our friendships changed," she said dejectedly. Rei couldn't have felt guiltier. If there was one thing he understood about Ran above all else, it was that she valued her friendships. By breaking up with Aya, and with Tatsukichi leaving her, things probably seemed so unfixable to her.

"You didn't have to mind me, Kotobuki. I was happy just being on the sidelines. I never expected that you would…"

"Shut up. You could have worked things out with Aya. You could have learned to care for her in time," Ran said heatedly.

Rei sighed. "Then you really don't know me." His head was spinning. Convincing Ran was becoming a losing battle for him. "I would never do that to anyone and treat them as second best. It's not fair to the other person and you know it."

"But why me?" Ran demanded. She looked lively, as if she was regaining her senses amidst the alcohol.

Rei smiled at her weakly. His hand, though he could barely feel the muscles anymore, reached up and cupped her jaw. "It's simple really." Ran watched him, expecting him to say more, but he really couldn't hold out any longer.

The alcohol hit him, and he started to get a strange feeling in his stomach. Ran's confused face in front of him began to get darker and darker.

Then, she gasped, and Rei felt warm as her breath fell over his face.

"Yumiko-chan!" Ran yelled among the gasps on the dance floor. Rei had fallen on her, and she struggled to keep on her feet as his full weight was pressed against her.

Suddenly, Yumiko emerged from the stunned crowd. Ran gave her a pleading look with a sheepish smile.

"Otohata passed out," Ran said.

Yumiko frowned. "I'll have to get the car to take him home." She looked over at her boyfriend Makoto. "I should take him. I'm responsible. He's too young to be drinking so much."

Her boyfriend nodded and gave her shoulder a squeeze. Yumiko smiled cheerfully to all her guests. "I'll be back though, so everyone, please enjoy the party." She turned to her boyfriend and whispered in his ear, which Ran had barely caught. "Try to explain things to the music critics. They don't need to know how young Rei is." Makoto nodded, and soon he had on his 'business' face as he tried to soothe the crowd.

"Ran-chan, you can enjoy the party. I'll take care of Rei-chan," Yumiko said, pulling at Rei's arm to try to support him. Two of her bouncers swooped from the shadows to assist her.

"Wait," Ran said, feeling lousy that Rei was like this. She'd never seen him unconscious like this. He looked so vulnerable. She glowered at his sleepy form. "Stupid Otohata." She then turned to Yumiko. "I'll help. Your bouncers don't need to come."

Yumiko smiled at her. Ran pinched Rei's cheek and said to him, "You can't talk back now, so I'm just going to say, Otohata, that you're a stupid jerk for drinking so much."

Ran snorted and shot a look to Yumiko. "Let's get him home."

And the two girls supported Rei out to the limo waiting for them. The driver helped them tuck Rei inside, and Yumiko took his hand as he leaned against her shoulder. Ran watched him sleep from the other side of the seats.

'Stupid Otohata, why'd you have to do that?' she thought. 'Why'd you have to drink because of me?'

Suddenly, Ran felt like she understood this boy less than ever.

TBC…


	11. Witching Hour

The neon lights of downtown Tokyo flashed by the car window, and Ran felt like it was the longest ride ever. More than anything she wished she could go home, but instead she was left taking care of a drunken Rei, someone she was confused about lately, and she didn't know if it was a good idea to pay him mind at all.

Yet something inside her just couldn't leave him there like that. Above all else, he was still her friend, no matter how big of a jerk he was being lately.

She sighed heavily on the other side of the limo, and she could feel Yumiko's eyes watching her. It was obvious the girl was trying not to stare, but in this limo with only a sleeping Rei for company, it was impossible to look anywhere else – besides outside the window, of course.

"You are a good friend to Rei," Yumiko said, cutting through the silence. If Ran didn't know any better, she'd assume the pop star was trying to fill up the time with conversation, and it was about the last person Ran wanted to talk about.

"I suppose. I shouldn't be helping him lately, not after what he did to Aya," Ran said with a huff.

"Aya is your friend?" Yumiko looked at Rei's peaceful sleeping face, and even Ran had a hard time drawing her attention away from it. "It's hard to think this boy could break another girl's heart."

"He told you?" Ran asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

Yumiko sighed. "Yes. The way he talked about it; he made it seem like it ended very badly, much worse than he wanted."

Ran shifted in her seat and sat up to listen to Yumiko more intently. The pop star looked to Rei with a sad expression.

"I think he knows it was a mistake in the first place to see if he could go out with her. He told me that maybe he could forget about… his feelings for someone else and give this other girl a chance. But the more he tried to like her, the more he felt like he wasn't being true to his own heart, even if he couldn't be with the one he wanted."

"He said that?" Ran asked, furrowing her brow. "Huh. I didn't think Otohata felt that deeply." She laughed a little. "I mean, he just seemed so mean to everyone."

Yumiko smiled lightly at her. "Rei is a very withdrawn person. It's in his nature to be anti-social and reserved like that. It comes across as haughty." Yumiko looked intently at Rei again, and Ran saw something else in the girl's eyes. Admiration? Maybe. "I know it's none of my business what Rei does with his love life. I shouldn't have meddled this much. It's just that, when I first heard Rei spinning discs and I got to meet him, I felt like he was a lot like my brother Seiji."

"Seiji? I didn't know you had a brother," Ran looked at her. "I don't recall a brother being in the bio of the pop idol mags."

Yumiko looked at her hands in her lap, and when Ran noticed the sadness on the woman's face, she wished she could take her comment back.

"Seiji isn't allowed to tell people he's my brother, Ran-chan, and that's the way my parents like to keep it. Seiji was given up when I was ten years old. My mother had an affair when I was little, and his paternity came back right when I was about to start middle school. My father was trying to get me to be a singer some day, so he didn't want something to taint our family if I became famous." She sniffled, and Ran watched a tear escape from her eye. Yumiko brushed it aside quickly and forced a smile. "So the man my mother slept with, my uncle, took Seiji, and he was raised as my cousin. We always knew, even Seiji, but he's treated as my cousin and that's the way it has to be. I mean, he is my cousin, and my brother, you could say, but I don't get to see him. My uncle moved to America with him, and we haven't spoken except once in awhile in letters.

"A year ago I was allowed to visit him. I spent an entire month with my brother, and I learned so much about him. He spins discs like Rei, and he's even shy and sometimes rude." She chuckled. "I'm sorry I'm unloading this on you. It's just that when I met Rei, and I saw his talent, I wanted him to have a chance my brother never had."

"Your mom and dad won't let you give Seiji a chance to tour?" Ran asked cautiously. Yumiko shook her head furiously.

"No. The whole thing still hurts my family. It's best that we're apart." Yumiko lightly patted Rei's shoulder. "Rei is enough for me. He'll be touring with me, and it'll be like I'm with my brother in spirit. Of course, I know Rei is not Seiji, but by helping Rei fulfill his dreams to be a great DJ, I feel like I'm doing something right by my brother in a way."

"That's so unfair." Ran felt mad. She hated when drama and people's insecurities kept family and friends apart. It was horrible to see Yumiko be apart from her brother, but there was nothing Ran could do. She knew that, but at least in Yumiko's kindness she was helping Rei. "I'm glad you're giving Rei a chance." Ran frowned as she looked at him. "Still. It's going to be weird not having him around. Whenever I need help with something, I know I can count on Rei. I mean, he usually tells me if I'm being a bonehead or too impulsive." Yumiko looked at her with surprise, and Ran lifted her nose in the air slightly. "Not that it happens often, you know."

Yumiko smiled at her, and Ran noticed the car was coming to a halt.

"Madam, we've reached the address," said the driver. Yumiko thanked him and looked to Ran.

"Here we go. Are you ready to take him in?" Yumiko said.

Ran nodded. She held up a house key with a grin. "I swiped his house key when we got him in the car."

"Good, let's put this poor boy to bed," Yumiko joked, and Ran laughed before they started to maneuver him out of the car.

Ran whined loudly and gruffly while Yumiko kept cheering her on. Rei didn't look it, but to Ran he was actually heavy, especially when it came to lugging him up steps.

"Argh, he's so heavy!" Ran panted, pulling him up on the stoop over the front steps. She and Yumiko seemed to work well in sync, but even two girls carrying an unconscious Rei up the stairs was trying work.

"We're almost there, Ran-chan, don't give up!" Yumiko said, who was panting just as hard. "Hey you don't suppose his bedroom is right through that door, do you?"

Ran shook her head. "I say we leave him on the couch." She blew out a heavy breath as they managed to get Rei into the house.

"Phew, it's probably a good thing his parents are out of town," Yumiko commented. "I think he did mention them coming back tomorrow afternoon though."

"Ha! Hopefully he has a killer hangover, and they notice it! That'll teach him," Ran said sadistically. She looked mournfully up at the steps and then turned her head to Yumiko, who gave her a pointed expression. "You want to take him to his bed, don't you?" Ran groaned when the pop star gave her a gentle nod. "Rei, you owe me big time!" Ran yelled in his ear. He groaned, yet still seemed out to the world.

"Well," Ran said determinedly, "let's go!" And with one step at a time, Ran and Yumiko managed to haul Rei up the stairs. Both girls sighed in relief as they pulled Rei onto his Western-style bed. Yumiko collapsed in a small chair in Rei's room, while Ran fell backwards next to Rei on the bed.

"Let this be a lesson. I will never let this boy drink alcohol again," Yumiko promised.

"You make sure he doesn't get any ideas in America," Ran said. "Gees!" She sat up when she caught her breath, and she looked again at Rei's sleeping face. "He's such a pain."

Yumiko giggled. "But you care about him enough to get him up here."

Ran shot her a sour look. "I suppose he'd do the same for me." Yumiko didn't respond, but she looked at Ran intently.

"We should probably go. I think he's fine now," Yumiko finally said after a few moments of silence.

Ran nodded. "You go ahead. I'll make sure his shoes are off." Yumiko cocked her head at her, and Ran felt her cheeks go slightly hot. "I just want to yell at him before he wakes up." She furrowed her brow. "It'll probably be the only chance I get without a snotty reply."

"Alright," Yumiko said, standing up from the chair. "Thank you, for helping me get him home."

Ran gave her a surprised look and then softened. "Sure."

Minutes burned away when Yumiko left, and Ran wandered around in Rei's room, content to stay and snoop around at all his things, getting a better feel for his treasures and favorite things. The boy was such a mystery to her; she thought maybe going through his stuff might shed some light. She'd always seen him as a snotty, clean-cut type with little to no personality.

But as long as she's gotten to know him, she'd been proven wrong.

She set down a stuffed black bear that said "Yellowstone Park" on its belly, and she turned to look at the clock. It was well past midnight, and her parents were probably worried, despite her telling her mother she was going to be out late at a party for the end of the video shoot. She hoped her mother relayed her message to her dad, for she really couldn't tell him she'd be out. He'd never let her go.

Her attention suddenly snapped behind her when she heard some movement on the bed.

Rei moaned awake, sitting up on his bed. When he spotted her, Rei looked slightly shocked. "Kotobuki? What's going on?" He looked around his room, his mind finally registering where he was.

Ran crossed her arms in disapproval. "You passed out. Yumiko-chan and I dragged you home and all the way up these stairs." She scoffed. "You're not good with alcohol, Otohata. You owe me one. A big one."

He looked at her stunned. "It would seem so," he said calmly, but Ran detected the awkwardness building between them.

"I was just about to leave," Ran said finally.

Rei said nothing, and she caught him staring at his lap with a somber expression. She couldn't tell if he was still out of it, or if he might have been slightly sad at her leaving. She groaned inwardly. She could never figure out this boy.

She walked to the door and finally he said something. "Wait." Turning around, she saw that he was looking at her now. "Thank you, Kotobuki." He gave her that small smile that she'd seen every once in awhile when he was pleased with one of her actions. She didn't see it often, but it frustrated her every time. It always left a warm feeling in her stomach that often left her feeling confused.

"Yeah, it was either me or Yumiko-chan's bouncers," she said, lightly making a joke. She watched him as he fell back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I made an ass of myself," he said, as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Ha! That's an understatement!" She laughed, and then walked over to the edge of his bed. "It was good I was there to take care of you."

Rei groaned. "I don't want to hear this from you. You know you were drinking too."

She pumped up a bicep. "Yeah, but I'm stronger than you, Otohata. You're just a weak pretty boy."

"I always feel like you're insulting me when you call me that," he said sardonically.

She saw the dejected look on his face and crossed her arms as he slung his legs over his bed. She watched him rub his temple and groan again.

Just by looking at him, Ran was pretty sure Ran was still not himself, yet slowly, he was sobering up by the minute.

"Listen," she said, and she really didn't know how to come out and say the current string of thoughts in her head. "I think… I think I finally understand why you hurt Aya." Rei's head snapped up and met her eyes. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not saying you're off the hook totally, but I do understand thanks to Yumiko-chan."

Rei sighed heavily. "Do I even want to know what she said to you while I was out?"

Ran harrumphed. "I wouldn't worry about it." The awkwardness between them started to feel tense, and she felt her body getting unusually hot. "It's really nothing new," she concluded quietly.

"I see," he said, and he averted his eyes to the ground. Ran watched him for a moment, and then the time dawned on her. She really had to get home before her parents had a meltdown.

Before she could turn tail and go, he caught her arm and surprised her. Suddenly, he spun her around toward him, and he pulled her against his chest before she could protest. In a foggy instant, his lips were on hers, and she made a noise of protest against his tongue. Then, something warm exploded in her body and lulled her into contentment. And for a longer moment than she allowed, she fell against him and let him kiss her, deeply and so frenetically she became scared of the reality. He was good, so good that he would most definitely top any other kisses from this point on.

As he continued to taste her, she realized that Otohata had become her 'first' kiss, not just something on the cheek or the hand like she normally allowed guys to do.

No, this was real, and he felt so skilled and devoted she barley forgot to breathe.

But no matter how perfect his kiss was, something snapped in her brain that told her this was wrong. She fisted her hands against his chest and pushed him away.

"No!" she said, her temper flaring. "How dare you!" She jumped out of his arms and was panting with fury in front of him. He looked at her with a dazed look, the same mystery swirling in his eyes. What the hell could he possibly be thinking now?

"I apologize," he said with a slur, and damn it, she knew that he was still drunk and not thinking clearly. Then, the next string of words made her question his sanity. "I love you, Kotobuki. I love you."

Before she could retort (and maybe beat him to a pulp), he fell backward onto his bed and emitted a gentle snore. He was out to the world, and Ran was even more furious she couldn't lash back at him.

"You! Argh!" She stomped around his room seething. "You're not supposed to do that. It's not right! We're not right, and you've just changed everything."

She turned to his sleeping form with fury in her eyes. "Jerk," she muttered, yet she was surprised when her words came out choked, as if she was going to cry.

Finally, she turned around and hurried out of his house, leaving him to unconsciousness. She wished she could go against her better angels and rustle his sleeping ass up, but she thought against it. She even admitted that if he did come awake again, she wouldn't know what to say.

The cold air of night was brisk against her skin as she stomped home. She barely felt it with the remnants of Rei's kiss burning on her bruised lips. She shuddered and realized the hatred and shame she felt for herself right now. She almost hated herself more than Rei. Of course, at least he was honest. She'd known he'd felt strongly about her for awhile now.

But love?

"Stupid, damn, son of a …" She mumbled to herself and kicked rocks on the sidewalk, but the feelings came no matter what she did.

She couldn't believe it. Not yet. Could she honestly have feelings for Rei too? Especially when she did enjoy his amazing kiss.

"Dammit!" she screamed to the world, scaring a few night time creatures that were slumbering in the shadows beyond the lighted paths of the street.

She hated this. Her feelings were betraying her friends. They were betraying all she's ever strived to push against. Rei Otohata, the clean cut jerk that everyone assumed was her boyfriend. Then, the boy revealed his feelings and threw a wrench into the perfect and harmonious cohesion of their little group.

And now she was guilty too. She was guilty for considering him and pushing aside all her promises to never betray her friend Aya.

Ran was even _guiltier_ because she even wanted to kiss him again.


	12. The Last Goodbye

Five months had gone by, and his high school graduation had come and gone. But Rei still remembered that pinnacle night with Ran where he confessed to her in a drunken haze. At first, it had been blurry, but his intention had been very strong. Without inhibitions the lead-weighted truth of his feelings hadn't felt so heavy anymore and had escaped from him with ease.

For the first month he felt miserable, and Yuya had commented that he couldn't have possibly gotten any nastier and more anti-social after the event. However, he couldn't muster the courage to confront Ran, and she made no great lengths to contact him either.

She did, however, wait about a week to call him. He ignored the message and never returned her call, and after some deep thinking, he decided not to call her at all unless she came to him in person. She never did.

The message was generic too, but he could feel the emotion in the tone of her voice. Maybe she was confused, but mostly, she sounded angry and upset. Her message was very terse and blunt. "Hey Otohata. Call me, bonehead." And that was it.

It was enough to inspire him to keep away from her for even longer, so he took more work hours at the music store, and he threw himself into his preparation with Yumiko's tour and the move to UCLA. He spent some time with Yuya and Mami, but mostly, they kept him out of their affairs, and truthfully he didn't like to be the third wheel. He was glad that Yuya was happy. At least he had moved on from liking Ran.

Rei couldn't say the same for himself.

As he was walking home from work one day, he unexpectedly ran into an old friend. It was Miyu. He was so surprised to see her that he thought he might be falling into a daydream. She handed him an envelope and smiled at him with her usual cheerfulness.

"I know you and Ran aren't talking right now, and you and Aya too, but I really want you to come to my wedding, Otohata-kun," she said pleadingly, and her eagerness made him feel bad.

He hesitated momentarily but nodded. "Of course." Miyu seemed elated, and she bowed to him and thanked him before running off toward the police box. Rei stared at the invitation, and he noticed that the wedding was happening just a couple days before he set off for America.

"How appropriate," he mused aloud to himself. He only hoped Yuya and Mami were going to the wedding too, so he wouldn't have to be around Aya and Ran to suffer by himself.

Rei had been dozing when his phone rang, and he was a little disoriented when he answered. "Oh, Yuya, it's you."

"Mami-chan's limo will be at your house in five minutes. Are you ready for this wedding?" he asked. Rei had to tell himself when he woke up this morning that this was the day. He still didn't want to believe it.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Rei replied.

"Good, I just hope you're in a somewhat good mood," Yuya said, and Rei detected something suspicious in his friend's voice.

Rei sighed heavily. "What did you do now?"

"Well, you didn't have a date, and Mami-chan was very insistent to bring her friend to this wedding. She didn't ask Miyu-chan, so I mentioned to her that you were going to this wedding solo."

Rei sighed again. "You didn't," he said mournfully. "Don't tell me it's Harue, that cranky tanned girl she always bosses around."

"I'm sorry, man," Yuya said.

"You owe me. I'm not dancing with her, and I will not promise to be nice to her," Rei threatened.

"Yeah, I told Mami that, so she knows," Yuya said with a chuckle.

"Dude, you are so whipped by that girl," Rei said.

Yuya chuckled again. "You would be too, man, if you were in love with a great gal."

Rei ignored the comment and said goodbye before clicking off his phone. He really didn't know how to answer that. There was only one gal in his heart right now, and he didn't even want to face her.

When the limo finally showed up, Rei had to endure Harue's annoying prattle as Mami and Yuya cooed to each other on the other side. At this moment in time, he desperately wanted someone to crash into the limo, maybe have a fire cracker fall through the sun roof, or watch someone set Harue's hair on fire, because she couldn't stop talking about how awesome it had turned out, and he really didn't want to hear about it anymore in his lifetime.

The ride to the wedding was far too long, and Rei thought maybe it would seem a little faster since he was basically riding from one hell to the next. So he really didn't celebrate all that much when they arrived at the church, and he had to sit in a cramped pew next to Harue, who smelled like she bathed in perfume, to wait for the impending ceremony. As far as he read from the wedding bulletin, Aya and Ran were both bridesmaids, with Ran listed as Maid of Honor.

His only consolation was that once the ceremony started, Harue and Mami would have to be quiet, and if anything made him happier, it was complete silence. He couldn't admit to himself that he was more than anxious to see how Ran looked in her dress.

Soon, the wedding march played, and like everyone else, Rei turned around to see one of Miyu's classmates start the procession. After she moved down the aisle, Rei had to look away since Aya was up next, and he didn't want to bother her by his presence lest they made eye contact. He did catch a glimpse of her once, and Aya smiled happily and didn't seem to notice him at all. He hoped that meant she'd gotten over him and had moved on with her life.

The last girl he couldn't help but look at. He tried not to stare too much as she illuminated the room with her presence. Ran had that usual confident smile on her face, and she looked very pleased to be maid of honor for her best friend Miyu. Like Aya, however, she did not make eye contact with him, but she no doubt noticed him because she turned and gave Mami a haughty and challenging look. Mami seemed sour after that, which truthfully amused Rei. It was kind of like old times.

The wedding ceremony went on like any other with its basic Christian inspiration. After the bridal party headed out, the crowd was shuffled out of the church back to their cars to meet up at a banquet hall in Shibuya Prefecture. Rei knew once he was at the reception, he'd find Miyu and her new husband and give his respect before he left. He'd have retreat quickly because he did not to run into Aya or Ran, nor did he want to spend another dull minute with Harue.

After people were settled at their tables, Rei retreated to the bathroom and checked his appearance. He pulled out his phone and sent text messages to a few people, and afterward, he exited and scoped out the reception hall. The bridal party had already been announced and was seated for dinner, and if he was going to talk to Miyu, now would be a bad time. He scanned the crowd, and Yuya was frantically beckoning him to come over.

"Where have you been?" Yuya hissed at him in a whisper.

"Making myself scarce," Rei said pointedly. He caught Mami scowling at him, and Harue looked insulted. He really didn't care.

"I'm leaving after dinner, Yuya. It was enough for me to be here," he whispered, but Mami caught his words.

"Huh, you are such a big wuss. Why can't you suck it up and just enjoy Miyu's happy day? She made an effort to invite you; so who cares if your ex is here and the girl you want who won't give you the time a day?"

"Mami!" Yuya yelled at him, but Rei had already let her words roll of his back.

"Anyway, I'm leaving as I said." Rei could feel Harue's eyes on him. He knew she was disappointed, and after all the drivel she made him sit through, he felt like she deserved it. "I have to pack for my flight anyway."

"I thought you finished that?" Yuya asked.

"Nope." Rei had to have some excuse to leave this wedding early. He thought it was the perfect plan.

After enduring another two hours, Rei saw Miyu finally come to their table to meet and greet them, and thank them for coming to the wedding. When she met Rei's eyes, he thanked her for the invitation and food, and he wished her a happy marriage.

"Your gift is being sent to you, Miyu-chan," he said brightly. Then, he frowned. "I'm sorry but I have to go soon. I have to finish packing for college."

"That's okay, Rei. I'm just glad you made it, and I will be there for your sending off party," Miyu said and then she squeaked. "Oh, sorry, I wasn't supposed to say anything." She sent an apologetic look to Yuya.

"Don't worry about it," Yuya said and waved off her blunder. "He's known about it for a couple days. If I didn't tell him about his party, he'd be already halfway to L.A." Rei rolled his eyes.

"Great, see you then!" Miyu said, leaning down to hug him. She moved onto the last table, and Rei turned to Yuya.

"I'm going then. There's no need for me to stay any longer." He got up from his chair and Mami and Harue shot him dirty looks. "Gees, will you both stop it?" Rei finally had enough of their attitudes for the day. He almost missed hanging out with Miyu, Ran and Aya. They never acted this annoying.

"Yeah, we know. Take care man," Yuya said, and Rei waved before turning around and heading to the road. He'd call a cab and find sanctuary back at his house. After he hailed the cab, he felt the inspiration to look behind him. Maybe it was false hope on his part, but he almost dreamed that Ran would run for him, stopping him from leaving the wedding to have one dance with her.

Of course, even in his daydream he wouldn't know what the answer would be. He might have even said no just to tick her off.

He smiled a little to himself, and he shut the door of the cab when he realized his thoughts were just thoughts, and Ran wasn't really running after him.

Rei didn't even believe she was thinking about him right now. Her best friend just got married, and she was surrounded by the people she loved. He was sure he wasn't even a passing thought in her mind.

Everyone had come to his going away party at their usual hangout; everyone except for Ran, of course. Rei didn't expect her to come. In fact, he was rather beside himself on what to say to her if she did end up coming. They still weren't speaking to each other, and even Aya had made a cameo appearance and had quickly ducked from the party on the arm of her new boyfriend, a tall blonde guy who she met at her college orientation. Rei was glad she was back dating again, and he was relieved that she didn't appear to carry a torch for him.

It was just as well. They weren't good for each other anyway. She was a rather low-maintenance girl, and in the beginning he thought he'd want that, but then he realized how boring things would get after awhile.

Tatsukichi had shown up to his party as well, more than anything to make peace with him. Rei was sure it took some convincing on Miyu's part to come, and though he thanked her for it, it wasn't necessary. Rei still didn't feel like he did anything wrong, even though Tatsukichi seemed to think otherwise. Rei went along with it, and he accepted the boy's olive branch and moved on. Tatsukichi left his party early as well.

Everyone had wished him well, and Miyu and Yamato expressed missing him while he was gone. Mami and Yuya wished him good luck, and several of Yumiko's part-time dancers had come to get in a word as well.

"So, are you ready?" Yuya asked. His father and mother beamed at him as they went up to pay the bill. They hollered that they'd wait in the car for Rei, but that he should hurry for his flight.

"Yeah, I think I am. I never thought I'd leave Tokyo, but I know this is right. I want to get away and concentrate on my DJing," Rei said. He looked out the window with a deep thought. "Yumiko-chan is giving me a great opportunity."

Yuya nodded. "I know, but I'm going to miss you, man," he said, clapping Rei on the shoulder. He bemoaned lightly, "While you're gone, I'll be surrounded by all of Mami's friends. It'll be nobody but girls!"

Rei smiled wryly at him. "What's this? You're not glad to be getting every free minute with your true love?"

Yuya gave him a panicked look. "Not so loud!" he said, putting up his hands. Rei laughed. He gave Yuya a pensive look, and then his best friend leaned forward and embraced him.

"You better come back home," Yuya said just above a whisper.

"I will," Rei said. They broke away from the embrace and Rei saw Yuya wrinkle his nose.

"Here's hoping you go over to America and forget all about Ran Kotobuki," Yuya said finally.

Rei nodded in agreement. "I'm hoping so too." However, his heart was telling him differently. He didn't know if he could find a woman that could measure up to Ran, and the thought totally depressed him.

He waved goodbye to his remaining friends, and he joined his parents in the car. He looked back once, and he saw Mami wave again. Then, they turned around and Rei watched them go back to their own lives.

Now, it was his turn to get back to his.

He zipped through security and rolled his carry-on bag toward the terminal. He looked at his sheet. Once he got off the plane, a fellow UCLA student would be waiting for him at the airport, and then he would take him to his new dorm room to settle in with his roommate. The person meeting him was a student advisor, and Rei had already spoken to him several times on the phone. Rei was a little nervous about flying and going to a new country all on his own, but he felt like things would turn out fine as long as someone was there to meet him.

He settled down at the seats in the terminal, and he pulled out his English dictionary to brush up on the language. Before he could turn the first page, he heard someone calling him in a hissed whisper.

"Hey! Otohata!" He looked up from this book with wide eyes. Only one person called him that.

"Kotobuki?" He put his book down and stood up. He could barely believe his eyes when he saw her beckoning over to him by the ladies room. He picked up his satchel and left his bags unattended as he cautiously walked toward her.

When he got to the front of the door of the bathroom, Rei hesitated when Ran disappeared inside. Was he supposed to wait for her here?

Suddenly, a hand flew out of the door and she yanked him inside. He made a yelp of surprise and felt a rush of inadequacy when he found himself out of place in the women's bathroom.

"Kotobuki, what are you doing here?"

Ran smiled at him. Her face showed a thoughtful expression. "I'm saying goodbye."

"Uh-huh, in a women's bathroom," Rei commented with a hint of annoyance.

Ran walked over to the door and snapped the lock. She turned back to him and met his eyes. "I won't take long. I wanted to talk."

Rei crossed his arms. "About that one night." Ran nodded.

Ran looked away awkwardly. "I understand you weren't in your right mind and you were too drunk to contain yourself, but I've had plenty of time to think about it, and I think you really wanted to do that to me."

"You mean kiss you?" Rei said guardedly. Ran scowled at him.

"Yes," she said, and she pointed a finger at him warningly. "And I'm here to tell you that we're still friends despite that, and I'm going to miss you when you go to America." She paused, but Rei was already stunned by her words. He couldn't imagine what she'd say after that. "But…I just want to say that you would have had no chance with me."

She looked determinedly into his eyes. Rei studied her for a moment but rewarded her with a smile. "Alright, fair enough," he said. He walked toward her to reach the front door. He lightly gasped when her hand caught his forearm.

"We are still friends," Ran pointed out again. Rei nodded, and Ran reached up and lightly kissed him on his cheek. "Goodbye, Otohata."

Rei was frozen, caught inside the moment. Ran wasn't usually an affectionate person, so to get any kind of kiss from her was good enough. When he remembered he was in the ladies room, he unlocked the door and shot her one last smile before returning to his things in the terminal.

Ran walked silently behind him, and she waved to him before she left. Rei watched the direction where she exited, still staring even after she'd been long gone.

Soon, his flight was ready to board, and with a long overdue sigh, he picked up his things and followed the other passengers in to his lonely seat.

To Be Continued…


	13. Home Sweet Home

_Four Years Later…_

As people's chatter buzzed around him at the graduation party, Rei Otohata settled himself in the back of the dining room on his roommate's couch. A couple of friends lounged with him, his roommate Chris, his friend Shinji and a couple of flirty girls, Sarah and Raquel. He laughed at Chris's jokes, and reminisced about classes with Shinji and Sarah. Sarah was leaving for a teaching job in Japan, and her Japanese was pretty good. Chris was heading to L.A. for a job in animation, and Shinji was trekking back home to Osaka to take over his father's business. Raquel, was the same as always, looking for dreams in Tinsel Town.

Rei had no problem finding a job after his graduation from UCLA. For his entire student career he juggled DJing gigs with school and was a permanent part of Yumiko's tour. After graduating, he finally broke away from his DJing with Yumiko and found employment on his own. When he returned to Japan, he'd start a few gigs at the most popular dance clubs in the Shibuya and Toshima. He also had several mixing gigs lined up with Japanese pop stars by networking through Yumiko. From time to time, he'd still mix for his old friend as well.

"Look at this guy, sitting all pretty here," Chris said, joking with him. Rei cracked a smirk. "One of the most popular guys on campus has the fewest words to say."

"The most popular _single_ guy on campus," Raquel clarified with a catty smile.

"Yeah, why is that, Rei? Why haven't you ever found a steady girl?" Sarah asked, slightly less flirtatious than Raquel's usual advances. Though, Rei did consider Raquel one of his good American friends.

"Same old story. He's hooked on some girl back home," Shinji said with a light snort. "Talk about dedication."

"She must be something," Raquel snorted. "Rei never goes after any girl unless they don't want him."

"And that's even rarer still. There are not many girls around here at UCLA that don't want to piece of our man here," Chris said.

"Their intentions are more than obvious," Rei said with a sigh, his voice rich with sarcasm.

"Typical," Raquel said with a warm smile. "I'll always be jealous of that girl, Rei, even if I don't know her." Rei met Raquel's eyes and he nodded.

"You're too good for me, Raquel," he said smoothly, and she laughed.

"So what's your story, Rei, besides the dream job and high-class apartment waiting for you at home? You've been straight-laced since I've met you freshman year, and now for this party, you have two red streaks in your hair. What's that about?" Shinji asked.

"I think it looks good on you," Sarah said, "but Shinji's right, it's totally not like you to dye your hair."

Rei's smile widened and he sipped his drink as everyone stared at him in anticipation. "It's in honor of finally going home," he said wistfully. Although, if they knew the real reason, he'd never escape the teasing. Ran Kotobuki had a red streak in her hair too, and after four years, he'd finally get to see her. Or so he hoped. He was still fighting with himself on whether or not to search her out when he got back.

Shinji looked at him with disbelief. "Uh huh, sure. This has nothing to do with your DJ image, does it?"

Rei laughed at that, and he didn't care if his friends believed that to be true.

"Man, Chris, this party is dying," Sarah complained, thankfully turning the subject away from him. She turned to the others and looked at them pleadingly. "Is anyone leaving so I can hitch a ride?"

"I am," Rei said, and he yawned. "My flight is at 7 A.M. tomorrow." Chris groaned for him, and Sarah looked happy to be getting a ride from him. She knew that she wasn't getting anything out of him, but just the look of satisfaction on her face when Raquel glared at her was probably enough. Rei will never understand women.

"Well, this is where I say goodbye," Rei said, standing up from the couch and holding out his hand to Raquel. Instead she took him into a big hug and soon he was being passed around to embrace each one of his college friends. Despite his longing for home (and Ran), he would truly miss every one of them. Coming to UCLA was a good idea, and he would never take it back if given the chance. He had gained many wonderful memories here.

He said his last goodbyes, and as he took Sarah back to her apartment, he listened to her chatter and tried to be as attentive as possible. When he drove up to the curb, Sarah took off her seat belt and gave him another hug.

"Rei, I hope you find your special girl. She'd be a fool to refuse you. You're an amazing guy." She smiled at him, and Rei nodded.

"You need to visit me when you move to Japan. I'll give you a free pass to my shows," Rei said, and Sarah's face lit up to that. He actually looked forward to seeing a couple of his friends live in his native country.

The car was silent as she bounced away, and he watched her walk up to her stoop and didn't leave until she was safely inside. Rei smiled and his mind switched gears.

He was anxious to get home; his favorite TV program was on: The Kotobuki Variety Show.

Rei settled into his empty room. His bags were all packed, and all he kept out were a blanket and pillow on the empty mattress of the bed. He'd be off to Japan tomorrow, so there was no need to keep anything unpacked, especially if he only cared about one thing before finally going to sleep.

The TV blipped on and Rei turned up the volume. He didn't even have to turn the channel; it was still on Tokyo TV, and at this time of every night, Ran Kotobuki, stylish private detective and former Shibuya police woman, talked for a half hour about domestic violence, women's empowerment, and even fashion sense. She was telling people what to do and helping them, and all the attention was on her. It was like her dream come true.

Rei found her TV show highly amusing, especially when she barely changed from four years ago. On the other hand, whenever he watched it he'd remember how much he missed her, and that he still longed for her on the loneliest of nights. He'd dreamt of her, soft and warm in his arms as he trailed kisses down her body.

But those were just dreams, and he sometimes felt like a fool for thinking he could someday have her if he waited long enough. For all he knew, when he got home he'd find out she had a boyfriend. Rei checked gossip websites vigorously, and he hadn't heard anything, but there was still that chance. Ran was good at intimidating people not to bother her if she didn't want them too.

"Ah, good evening out there in Japan, Ran-heads," she spoke to her fans. "Tonight we have a special show in store for you. I'm going to show you how to use a taser gun! And then we'll talk about some local organizations that are holding events for needy women and children, and like every closing, we'll discuss the dos and don'ts of fashion and give some _terrif_ examples. How does that sound?"

The audience in the background cheered, and Ran seemed to light up from their enthusiasm. She was always popular, and Rei was very proud of her.

For the rest of the show, Rei was mesmerized, and he chuckled along with her jokes and watched in fascination as she took charge of her guests and was encouraging to audience's questions.

His eyes felt heavy as the credits rolled, and with the closing theme of spunky music filtering inside his tired brain, he finally gave into sleep.

That night he dreamed not of going home, but of memories of Ran when they were younger. When morning came he didn't want to wake up and escape his dreams.

To Be Continued….


	14. Now is the Time

When Rei disembarked from the plane, he was amazed that he even remembered to breathe on the way back. He admitted to being nervous, of course. Yuya and his parents were waiting for him in the airport, and then after he settled at home, Yuya was dragging him to a homecoming party at their old hangout in Shibuya. Rei hadn't been to that place in four years, so he wondered if it would still feel the same way to him.

He hadn't seen Yuya in a long time too, save from webcam hookups, and he talked to him quite often on the phone. If anything, Rei had talked to Yuya more while he was in California than he did when he was in high school. It sounded like the poor man needed a masculine influence after being around Mami and her friends all the time.

As he rolled his bag through the exiting gate, he spotted his family immediately and they waved him over. He felt relieved upon seeing them, and soon his niggling thoughts about Ran began to take a backseat. He'd been daydreaming about her for most of the time on the plane, and not even a book he picked up from LAX could hold his complete interest.

"Hey, Rei!" Yuya called, and immediately the young man stepped back so Rei's mother and father could get in the first hugs. His mother had been crying, and Rei held her extra longer and told her he loved and missed her. His father looked upon him with proud eyes and bowed. Behind them, Yuya was without Mami and looking at him with glee.

"I missed you all," Rei said humbly, and he turned to Yuya with a wry grin. "Hey, you. Where's your other half?"

"She has tennis practice today, so she couldn't make it. She'll be at the party though," Yuya said with a quick chuckle.

"Amazing that she left you out of your cage for me," Rei said dryly. "I'll have to thank Mami-rin."

Yuya laughed. "It's good to have you back. I missed your bad attitude."

"Ah ah, I don't have a bad attitude," Rei said. His mother laughed. "I'm just realistic."

"Let's go to baggage claim and pick your things, son," his father said, and Rei nodded as he followed behind them and chatted with Yuya. Getting his things and leaving the airport went faster than Rei realized, and when he stepped foot on his front porch, he stopped and gazed at the house longingly.

He was just glad to be home, even though he wasn't going to live here anymore. He had an apartment in downtown Tokyo he was moving into tomorrow.

As they settled at Rei's coming home party, Rei gazed around the old restaurant and realized that it just wasn't the same anymore. It looked fairly similar inside, yet there was a little remodeling on the walls and in the booths. Younger crowds of unfamiliar faces began to hang out there, and he couldn't help but appreciate that this place would become important for other groups of friends like it did with his.

A modest amount of people showed up for his party, mostly out of curiosity for the fame he gathered. He talked to people from his school and from Ran's that he barely knew, but he was eager to engage them and tried to be as civil as he could if the conversation turned dull.

Yuya stuck to his side for the entire duration, and even Mami (though her expression said otherwise) seemed content to let her boyfriend enjoy his friend's company now that he was home. Rei made a mental note to steal Yuya from her clutches once in awhile so he could have some guy time, even though Yuya was clearly still head over heels in love with the woman.

Aya didn't make it, but she sent along her best with Miyu and Yamato-kun. According to Miyu, Aya married that young man from her college class from four years ago, and the two of them lived in an upscale place in Paris. Aya was the mistress of a fine mansion, and had two children to look after while her husband learned the ropes of his father's successful trading company. Rei was relieved and proud for her, and he was glad she got over him and was able to be with someone who obviously treated her as number one in his life. He never regretted letting her go. It would have been wrong to use Aya like that when his heart always belonged to Ran.

Miyu and Yamato-kun were also still happily married, and Miyu was working as a manager of a supermarket, and she and her husband were expecting their first child. They had a modest house close to Yamato's police box, and Rei was glad to see them content and happy with their lives.

Yuya and Mami seemed to be close-knit as well, and Rei overheard several instances where the two of them talked about marriage, and that her father was finally settling on accepting Yuya. His friend had already asked him to stand up for him, and Rei accepted.

As everyone shared their current lives, Rei couldn't help but wonder about Ran. Yuya had told him she probably wasn't going to make it, even though he called her and left a message.

"She's been really busy lately. Miyu hardly sees her anymore. She's still working part-time for her father's detective force contractually, and then she has her TV show. She's been doing a lot of volunteer work too," Yuya told him.

Mami chimed in: "She really took that 'poor girls who can't afford fashion' thing to heart. She's been organizing a lot of drives for the needy as well as setting up kiosks in malls to makeover girls to promote her show and side work."

Yuya laughed. "She's made so many people happy. She's a local hero."

Rei smiled, and he saw Yuya and Mami watching him intently. "That's good to hear," he said.

Yuya sighed loudly. "Man, I wish she would come. I heard from Miyu she's been following your career over there."

"Ha!" Mami said loudly, and Rei became increasingly curious. "The last time I hung out with her for a shopping spree, she had some of your mixes for Rinjou-Y blasted at full volume. She couldn't stop saying 'OH, that part is Rei,' and then 'There too, and there!' It was so annoying." Rei noted Mami's exasperation, but the woman was smiling wickedly at him, awaiting his response.

"Interesting," he said and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. It really was. Rei was about to burst inside, but he kept his composure and kept it cool. He didn't want Yuya to know he was still hung up on Ran, but he was sure his friend already suspected – and Mami too.

As the party winded down and people filtered out, Rei said goodbye to Yamato and Miyu as they were the last one's to leave before Yuya and Mami. Mami was getting impatient, and she had ordered the car around without Yuya's consent. He flustered apologetically as they prepared to leave, and he even offered Rei a ride home. Rei still hadn't picked up his new car from the dealership yet and was planning on getting his car, moving into his apartment, and doing other errands tomorrow.

Rei declined Yuya's offer anyway. "I think I'll walk home." He had a lot to think about, and he wanted to see his home again and take in the sights and sounds.

"Okay," Yuya said. He gave Rei another affectionate hug before Mami peeled him away. Rei watched their car leave somberly, but he changed his mind and turned around and headed to his empty apartment within a Shinjuku high rise.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and he listened to the chatter in the background of people walking around him. Rei stopped for a minute when he thought he heard someone screaming his name. He looked around, and the crowd of people in the night seemed large and encompassing, and when he didn't hear the cry again, he turned around and shook his head. He was probably hearing things.

"Otohata!" That was more distinct.

He turned around with wide eyes when he recognized the voice. Before he could reply none other than Ran Kotobuki bombarded into him, drawing her arms around him in a big hug.

"Kotobuki?" he asked shocked, for he didn't expect to see her at all. Was fate laughing at him? As she pulled away, he looked into her face and almost forgot to let the air back into his lungs.

This was the moment he'd been waiting for.

She put up her hand and tried to catch her breath. For someone who often caught criminals and ran after bad guys, she looked positively beat. He wondered how far she had run to catch up with him. Still, she looked the same from four years ago and she looked even taller than she appeared on her TV show. Rei gave her a light smile.

"I tried to make it…huff…huff… but my stupid producer would not let me leave!" She regained her composure again, and she met his eyes with jubilation. "Looks like I missed the party though."

"You did. Shame on you," he said tersely, which made her gape at his audacity. "It was no fun without you."

"Ha! That's the truth," she said boldly. "So now what? Are you going home?"

"To my apartment in Shinjuku, yes, at least to make sure my stuff got delivered there properly," he answered.

"EEE, you have an apartment in Shinjuku, that's posh!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Uh, yeah, I'm making enough to afford it," he said shocked at her excitement. "Don't tell me you still live at home with all your success and fame."

Ran grinned sheepishly and said, "I have a bit of a money budgeting problem. Sometimes I can't choose between rent and the new Prada handbag." Rei sighed but continued to smile: same old Kotobuki. "Not only that, but my father insists I stay home until I'm married. Mom doesn't really care, but dad is hard to argue with. And well, I can't really say no to him. He gets me some of my best jobs. The show does alright, but the contract jobs are more exciting and better paid."

"Ah, I'm surprised that your TV show isn't doing as well. I watch it all the time," he said.

"You do?" Ran asked. "Even in America?"

Rei nodded, and the two of them began to walk together down the street. "Kotobuki, are you busy? Would you like to go somewhere for… coffee or dinner?"

"Oh man! I haven't eaten since lunch! Sure, let's go!" She took his arm and pulled him along. Rei met her excited eyes and felt at peace. "I know the perfect place!"

He couldn't help it. He was stuck in this moment with her, and he never wanted to come out. They ducked into a bistro that Ran raved about, and as they sat down, Rei couldn't take his eyes from her as she chatted on about herself.

Dinner, coffee, and dessert came and went, but Rei didn't want to leave her. He didn't want to part ways at this shop and go home to a lonely apartment or to his parents' house with company that wasn't Ran.

The conversation died down, and Ran refused a refill on her coffee. It was an indication that it was time for them to go.

"Do you have a new phone number?" Rei asked, remembering the times when he called her old one and the number was disconnected. He felt he wasn't being too bold here, and maybe it would save him face for never calling her in these four years – or even trying.

Ran sighed. "Oh, that's right. I lost that old phone with the number I gave you. Didn't Nii-chan give you my new number?"

Rei gave a hard look into her inquiring eyes. "I'm sorry. I never asked. I figured you wouldn't want to talk to me after the way we left."

Ran frowned. "Oh, that does make sense." She paused. "Then I'm sorry too, I guess," she said flippantly. He wondered if she really felt it. She avoided his eyes and stared at another table. However, Rei noticed she wasn't ready to leave. So what was bothering her?

He pulled out his phone and she watched his movements. When he was ready, she gave him the new number and that was that. Rei stood up from his table, and Ran pouted and her brow scrunched.

"If you don't want me to call you after all these years, I can…"

"No!" Ran said angrily. "No. That's not it," she snarled to herself. He heard her swear under her breath. Something was really bothering her, and Rei was dying to know what she was thinking.

"Do you… want to see my new apartment?" He was nervous, but the words didn't come out that way. His tone was smooth, teasing, and he was sure she wouldn't fall for it. He was a lot older now – they weren't kids to see such signals as premeditative and cheap. If anything, Rei had always been serious about everything he'd done toward Ran.

Ran blinked and jumped up from her chair, her sour mood suddenly gone. "Really? I'm dying to see your place."

"I will warn you. It's pretty empty. Save for some furniture and boxes that is. Some things came with the place, so I don't exactly know if I'm keeping them yet."

"Oooh, even more fun! It'll be like opening presents." Ran laughed and Rei enjoyed the sound of it. He left money on the table when the waitress passed them by, and he made sure to leave a big tip. As usual, Ran gave him big puppy eyes to have him pay her share, but he didn't protest. He was going to anyway.

They walked out to the street, and Ran suggested they forego a cab so they could keep talking. He agreed, but he was silent again for most of her talk. However, he didn't mind since he was learning a lot about her that he'd miss in the last four years.

"I talked to Tatsukichi the other day," Ran said, and the name caused Rei spin around toward her. He felt a lump form in his throat, and he was worried they were back together.

"Oh?" He tried to sound neutral.

"He's found yet another fixation," she said with a groan. "I swear he'll never settle down if he goes for the first shiny thing he sees."

"So are you guys back together?" Rei blurted.

"What? Oh no! I dumped him years ago, but we're still friends. I mean, he tried to reconcile, but I just couldn't. After he told me to choose him over a job, I couldn't trust him. What if he started denying more from me? No, no, I need a guy who will let me do what I want and not control me," she said. Then she sighed. "Which might be expecting too much these days."

Suddenly, Rei felt his heart beat faster. If there were ever an opportunity to act, it would be now. He'd been wondering for years if she was still dating actively and finally after one bold question, he'd gotten his answer. She'd been having trouble as much as he had, though his troubles were self-inflicted.

Quickly, he grabbed her hand and pulled her aside against a building. He lightly dropped her arm, but he did not release her. He searched her eyes for any anger, any potential rejection.

"So, this means you're not with anyone at all right now?" he asked softly. He felt anxious, but he kept his cool reserve as she gaped open and scrutinized him. He smiled slightly, hoping it would put her at ease.

Unexpectedly, Ran laughed instead of hitting him. "You haven't changed. Are you playing me or what?"

"I swear I am not," he said, turning and feigning offense. Ran laughed louder, and she pulled her arm from his light grip and dipped down and took his hand.

"So you've been brooding about this all night, haven't you? No wonder your party sucked!" she joked.

"Not all night," he said truthfully. Her mood froze and she stared at him curiously again, and he left it at that. She didn't need to know he'd been waiting for her since she kissed him goodbye the day he left for college.

She didn't pursue it and left the conversation dead as she shifted to another subject. "So you'll have to come on my TV show some time. I rarely have celebrity guests. I need the ratings boost."

"You think I'm a celebrity?" Rei asked amused.

Ran cocked her head. "Don't be a jerk, Otohata. You know you are. You're mixing for some of the hottest idols in Japan, not too mention Rinjou-Y has laid her claim on you to use you whenever she wants. Your mix with her latest dance number sold over 40 million singles, and that's not counting international sales."

Rei raised an eyebrow and grinned at her. "You've been keeping up on me."

"Humph. Of course I have. You're my friend, and well, Rinjou-Y is my idol," she said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Sure, I'll come on your show," he agreed, and she cheered with a squeal. "You just can't taser me."

"Ahaha, you saw that episode," she said. "Boy, that was fun." He gave her a stern look. "Of course I wouldn't taser you," she said with a weak cough, but he didn't entirely believe her.

She chatted more about her show, and in no time, they were standing in front of the high rise that housed his apartment.

"Wow!" she said, looking up without blinking. Her mouth gaped open and Rei almost saw stars in her eyes.

"My suite is on the fifth floor. It used to be Rinjou-Y's before she moved to her penthouse," he said, and Ran was almost drooling.

"So you're getting her old apartment AND some of her leftover stuff?" she asked in disbelief.

"It appears that way," he said.

"How can you be so calm about this? I'd be freaking out if it was me." She followed him inside after he punched in the security codes and waved his ID to the guard. Ran even gaped at the guard, who didn't care she was there as long as Rei had the proper identification.

"Oh my God, you have the fuzz guarding you too!"

"Be careful, you're starting to drool," he droned.

"Hey!" she called, coming after him and waving her hands. "Be nice! You haven't seen me in four years."

"And you haven't changed a bit either," he said, and they strode into the elevator and Rei pushed the right button. Ran glared at him, but Rei knew she wasn't really mad.

"I have so changed. Do you how busy I've been? All the work I've done?" she huffed.

"Of course," he said, turning to her with a light smile. "I've kept up with you too all these years."

Ran's anger subsided, and Rei noticed her expression turned torn again, like it had at the coffee shop. He almost regretted teasing her this much.

Silently, she followed him to the right door, and she looked around, absorbing the scenery and 'oohing' and 'awwing' to the high-class décor.

"This is so couture!" Rei led her inside his new apartment, and she gasped when she saw the large white couch Yumiko-chan had left him. She took off and dove for it, hugging a pillow. "Oh my God, it even smells like her!"

Rei watched her with light amusement, taking in her excitement as it became his own. He wished he could tell her that this could all be hers too, if she accepted him. He didn't want to scare her though; he just got back.

He just had to be sure that she had some feelings for him, that maybe someday he'd have a better chance.

"Well, if I know Yumiko-chan, there's probably something to drink here. I'll go check the mini bar," he said. "Now that we're older and wiser enough to drink properly."

"Ha! It sounds strange coming from you," she said, and he could feel her watching him as he poured the drinks. He turned to her to her with a confident smirk.

"I promise, it's only champagne, and I've worked up a tolerance while I was at school," he said, handing her a glass. She stared at it before turning to him.

"I didn't even realize… I've been talking about myself, and you've said nothing about what you did in America," she said.

"Oh, so you're interested?" he teased.

"Of course," she snapped at him, sticking out her tongue.

"Well, there's not much to tell. I was probably just as busy as you were. Yumiko-chan had a lot of contacts there, and also, my schoolwork and clubs' work kept me pretty busy. I was probably the most boring college student ever, but my friends were nice enough to bring me a long to a few parties."

"And you probably had girls lining up," she said with a scoff, and she leaned back against the couch and looked out the large window to the night sky.

"Well, I wouldn't say that, but I didn't have time for that, nor did I really care for American girls," he said. "Some of them are worse than ganguro."

"Haha!" Ran said. "I would have been mad if you said kogals." She poked his chest playfully.

"I don't know any annoying kogals," he said seriously.

"Liar! You always gave me a hard time," she said, but her mocked anger settled into a smile. She looked away and her expression seemed nostalgic. "I miss those days."

"Hn," he said, taking another sip. Truthfully, he really didn't. The things with Aya and then dealing with his unrequited feelings were some of the things he was glad he was finally beyond.

"It's not the same, is it?" she asked with a sigh.

"No," he said simply. "It was never going to be the same." They fell into an awkward silence, and Rei became tired of skirting around the real issues with her. He wanted to finally make or break it and tell her his feelings. He knew that if she rejected him, he'd be devastated. But he'd survive. He did these four years, but it didn't mean he was going to stop loving her. He would just do it all on his own if worse came to worse.

"Do you still think I ruined our group of friends?" he asked boldly. He met her eyes, and she frowned.

"I never thought that," she said resolutely. "At first, I blamed you for the Aya stuff, and well, I couldn't understand why Tatsukichi just couldn't get over it. However, I was blind for awhile."

She put her glass down in the small end table next to the arm of the chair. She shook her head and said, "He was right. I just didn't see it."

Rei's heart froze. Was this how it was going to be? Did she have something to tell him before he could reveal his feelings again?

She wasn't looking into his eyes when she continued, "That night when Yumiko-chan and I brought you home, you told me… how you felt. You kissed me, and I was pissed. But I… I didn't hate it."

Rei took a strained breath.

"At the airport, I wanted you to kiss me again," she said. Her eyes flashed with anger, as if she'd been mad at herself for a long time.

Rei turned to her on the couch and held her arms, pulling her close to him. "Ran, why didn't you tell me?" He didn't expect to be more hurt that she kept this from him.

"Because dummy! If I kissed you, you would have stayed! You would have given up your dream to be a DJ, and I couldn't let you do it!" she seethed, but Rei's grip lessened when her words soaked in. "You would have stayed, right? You would have given everything up for me, and you couldn't do that. I wouldn't let you."

"But Kotobuki…" Rei said. He couldn't believe she gave him up because she wanted him to fulfill his dreams. It was the sweetest sacrifice, yet the fact that he had to wait this long left a horrible ache in his heart.

"Tatsukichi was right. Hell, Mami-chan was right when she said I liked you and didn't know it. I never realized this until you were gone." She paused and slipped out of his grasp. She stood up and began pacing his living room. Rei stared at her empty spot on the couch. "There were days when I wanted to call you about the silliest things. If I had a problem or if I knew I was going to do something stupid, I knew you would talk sense into me. I knew your opinion would always be right and fair. But you were gone, and I didn't have that anymore."

She stopped and turned to him, and he met her eyes. There were no tears, but she looked relieved, like a huge weight had been taken off her. She seemed to stand more confidently, and she raised her chin and peered at him with resolve.

"You're probably right. I would have stayed for you," he answered.

"And you would have been doing just what Aya did when she decided to change schools to be with you," Ran said wisely, and Rei agreed.

"I would have thought you were worth giving school up for, Kotobuki," he said. "I still do."

Ran watched him silently, but soon Rei saw a smile form on her relieved face. "You waited for me, didn't you? You idiot, you waited for me."

He grinned. "It wasn't the right time back then. You weren't ready. That's what I always thought."

"Do you think I'm ready now?" she asked defiantly with her hands on her hips.

He rose from the couch and walked over to her. He put an arm around her back and drew her near. "I can only try, but I must warn you, I am prepared to be devastated."

She went still in his arms as he leaned down, and soon her soft lips were under his, and he was taking in her mouth that he so longed to taste. He felt her sigh against him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer as her tongue delved deeper, dancing and tasting with his. A memory flashed before him, and he recalled how he boldly imposed upon her that one drunken night. This time, however, felt new – her lips willing and her body ready. He pressed her closer and grew hungrier, and she made no motion to stop him.

She made a noise of protest as he pulled away, and when his lips found her jaw, she craned her neck back and sighed. His pulled away, his lips hovering just above the V of her shirt.

He drew back, and he met her eyes with a sensual smile.

"Kotobuki…"

"Ran," she said. "Call me Ran." He stopped, and he looked at her curiously. "I hate when you call me 'Kotobuki'. It always feels like you're yelling at me."

"Okay, then, Ran-chan."

"No, just Ran," she huffed.

"Ran-ppe," he said quickly.

"AH! You're teasing me," she raged at him, and he snaked his arms around her as her face buried in his chest.

"Ran," he said softly, and she ceased fidgeting.

"Rei," she said, with her tone confident and resolute.

"Stay here," he said.

"For the night?" she sounded on the verge of anxiety and defense. Rei laughed.

"For as long as you want," he said.

She pulled out of his hug and looked up. "Really?" Her eyes roamed around his apartment excitedly. "Can I help decorate?"

Rei's grin widened. "We'll see about that." Ran snorted unhappily. "Come on, let's order a movie. Then maybe we can order take out."

"Sounds good! You're buying," she said, and she pulled his arms and drew him over to the couch, where they sat down and nestled against one another. She grabbed the remote and began playing with his satellite TV, and he let her pick the movie, though he did get in a few remarks about her choices (some of them not to Ran's liking).

"Argh! I'm choosing this one!" she said hotly, and Rei chuckled against her shoulder.

"You know, I take back what I said about the movies you picked," he said.

"Eh?" she raged at him. "I went through all that abuse for nothing?"

"Yep, because I don't think I'll be watching any of them," he said, and he stole the remote from her hand and tossed it to the floor. Ran gaped and Rei moved in for a kiss. He led her down onto the couch and settled over her. He watched as her hair fanned out underneath her.

"I just noticed," she said, and her eyes looked above his crown. He stopped as she stared. "You have a red streak in your hair."

"Yes," he said and he kissed her temple.

Their eyes met, and Ran shook her head. "You really are a dork."

"Maybe, but that's not it at all," he said, and their bodies shifted more comfortably on the couch. Until now, Rei didn't realize how large this couch was until they snuggled together.

"Don't leave me in suspense, what is it then?" she asked with feigned annoyance.

"You don't even have to ask, Ran," he said. "I already told you why four years ago."

She nodded, and he felt her nuzzle closer against him. "As long as we're being honest, I feel the same way too."

He chuckled, and he looked over to see the flush on her cheeks. It was just like her not to come out and say it – but that was part of why he liked her, and why they were perfect for each other.

Ran let out an angry strained sigh. "So the super cool gal falls in love with the clean cut jerk." She snuggled closer as a chuckle rumbled in his chest.

"The end," Rei closed off with amusement, and as he ran his fingers through her hair, he felt her shaky hand sneak under the edge of his shirt. When her soft fingers met warm flesh, he drew her in for another kiss - one that lasted longer this time.

And it was within her kiss that marked the beginning of an even longer night, the very night the both of them had been wanting for these past four years. It had all come to this, and Rei wouldn't have played it out any other way.

 

*

 

_The Next Morning…_

Ran yawned loudly as Rei snuggled next to her on Yumiko-chan's large comfortable couch. The two of them managed to unearth some blankets and snuggled next to each other all night long. Despite being mostly up for anything, Rei was a gentleman and did not rush into anything last night. There was no pressure, and Ran didn't ruin the night when he just wanted to hold her.

He really was a good man, and Ran sometimes hated herself for not seeing it sooner. It didn't matter now, however, since they'd finally found each other.

She slipped out of bed soundly as Rei continued to sleep. She heard a light knock on the door, and she wondered who could be calling at this time in the morning. Did anyone even know who was here? She stepped cautiously toward the door and looked out the peephole.

She sighed when no one was there, and slowly she opened the door. Looking down, she realized the morning paper had come. Only it wasn't an actual newspaper.

"AHHH!" she screamed, and Rei woke up quickly distressed.

"What is it?" he grumped, rubbing his eyes.

"The paper! Rei you gotta see this!" she exclaimed. She ran to the couch and plopped down in the mess of blankets wrapped around him. He blinked and took the paper she had shoved onto his lap.

His eyes went wide when he noticed the cover, then he sighed in exasperation.

"Renowned DJ Artist Otohata Rei and Talk Show Host Ran Kotobuki Hooking Up? Details inside."

"That's us!" she said frantically, pointing to the picture of them sitting in the coffee how chatting. Rei turned the page and saw many more tabloid shots of them, one of them by the guard signing them into his apartment.

"Huh, well you were right, Ran, I am a celebrity!"

"No duh, and so am I!" she said and she grabbed the rag of a tabloid from his grasp and stared at it. "I don't know whether to burn this or frame this!" Rei saw her hands shaking, and she looked upset, and he wondered if she was going to cry.

Instead, she leapt from her spot and laughed. "This…this is the first racy story about me! I'm going to get a lot of ratings!" She laughed wickedly and Rei exhaled heavily as he fell back into bed.

"Well if you're happy, then please put that down and crawl back into bed. I didn't plan on getting up until 7 today."

"Don't be a stick in the mud, Rei. This is really good news! I wonder who sent it though; ah well, doesn't matter," she said. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her sternly.

"I am not a stick in the mud," he said, and when she paced over to him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. "You know what this means, don't you? The tabloids and the attention?"

"What?" she froze and she actually dreaded what he was going to say next.

"It means I have to go on your show now. I'm obligated," he said teasingly. She relaxed in his grasp and laughed. "But no tasers."

"Don't worry about the tasers! I promised," she said, and when she met his gaze, he saw wickedness in her eyes. "However, I am doing a show about getting over the fear of spiders and snakes."

Rei shuddered. "No, Ran. I won't do it."

She leaned in and smiled coyly at him. "Oh yes you will." She shifted her body and leaned her arms on his shoulders as she straddled him. "Because you'll do anything for me."

"I don't know about that," he said, feigning indifference. "I don't think you really know me."

She leaned in close and rubbed her forehead affectionately against him. "Don't be rude, of course I do."

His voice dropped to a whisper. "Then did you also know that I want breakfast right now?"

"Ooh! Me too," she said, her mood quickly changing. Before she could bolt away, Rei held her back.

"Who said anything about treating you? I'm going to get dressed and go out myself," he said mockingly.

"Oh! You are not! You're taking me out and buying!" she demanded.

He pushed her off and stood up. He stared down at her as she pouted. "No spiders. No snakes." If her lips could pout any lower, they would.

"Fine, but you're still buying me breakfast," she said, and she watched intently as he peeled his shirt off from the night before. He met her eyes again and smiled knowingly.

"Well, then, I guess you really do know me." He held out his hand. "Come on, let's go."

Ran bounced up and followed behind him. The warmth of her hand in his was a new yet beginning comfort for him, and once they had finally accepted each other, he couldn't help but desire even more from her.

And now that Ran Kotobuki was here – with him, they needn't be silent about such things ever again.

THE END


End file.
